InnovationAus Podcast

The average cost to Australia of natural disasters is currently estimated at $38 billion each year. It is time to shift our focus from spending on response and recovery, and to invest more into resilience and recovery. Adrian Turner is the CEO of the Fire and Flood Resilience program at the Minderoo Foundation. In this podcast, Adrian lays the argument for change.

With just days remaining before Australians cast their ballots at the federal election, shadow industry and innovation minister Ed Husic joins the Commercial Disco podcast to talk policy. From the operation of the National Reconstruction Fund, the plans for an Office of Made in Australia, and the future of the Industry Growth Centres, Mr Husic details Labor plans for industry development if it wins next Saturday.

There is plenty of uncertainty in the global economy right now, from supply-chain concerns to the war in Ukraine to geo-political tensions and the complications of the ongoing pandemic. But Verizon Business chief revenue officer Sowmyanarayan Sampath – known universally as simply Sampath – the global business outlook has never looked stronger. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Sampath talks about the megatrends of the telecommunications sector.

The final episode of the Counterpoint Conversations podcast series will focus on the challenges ahead in reshaping the cultural settings of the defence force, particularly in relation to the augmented reality and virtual reality technologies being adopted for learning and development. As the demands of the AUKUS program evolve, engaging the widest range of people with the right mix of problem-solving skills is going to be essential. Diversity of thinking – including addressing gender balance and managing awareness of bias – will be a central plank for success.   With the defence sector's increasing move to gamification and augmented reality to innovate and adapt to the changing nature of warfare, this podcast will explore the importance of inclusivity at the design stage of technology to ensure diversity in thought, assessment, life experience and world view, to help address complexity in decision making.  

New South Wales will continue to focus on research commercialisation through its on-going co-investment in critical research infrastructure and encouraging greater collaboration of the “triple helix” of universities, government and industry, according to the state's Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Alister Henskens. In this podcast, Mr Henskens – who is also NSW Minister for Skills and Training, talks to InnovationAus editor James Riley.

This discussion will explore transformative projects within the public sector. Public sector projects progress at a different speed to those in the private sector, and scrutiny of government project management extends far beyond a government agency's internal stakeholders - there are multiple goals and milestones to report on, many teams of people to manage and access to an incredible wealth of resources. In this episode, Public Sector Medal recipient Patricia Kelly (formerly with the SKA and IP Australia), and Principal of Buildcorp, Josephine Sukkar, explore the projects that have been created in the public sector environment and become transformative by way of multiple applications across the economy. What are the projects that have been created within certain confines of government, that have gone on to be the foundation for significant national policies and outputs – and who are the people working behind the scenes to deliver them?

The Capability - Submarines, industrial development and frontier technologies webinar was a discussion at the highest levels of business about how companies can mobilise to build strategically important and commercially valuable intellectual property. Large-scale defence contracts direct huge investment into high-tech industries. At a time when a raft of powerful new technologies are coming of age, considered and well-directed industry programs and partnerships can be truly transformative. The industrial development opportunities for Australia are extraordinary. Where is Australia placing its big bets to leverage existing research leadership? Where does Australia already have comparative advantage, and where will it partner to augment home-grown capability ? Quantum, artificial intelligence, 5G, advanced manufacturing, robotics and automation, and critical mineral processing are all part of this mix. Expert guests included: Adrian Beer, CEO, METS Ignited Rob Le Busque, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific at Verizon Business Group Jens Goennemann, Managing Director, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre. For more information on what was discussed, see AUKUS brings ‘huge multiplier effect' to local industry (innovationaus.com).

The Capability - Submarines, industrial development and frontier technologies webinar was a discussion at the highest levels of business about how companies can mobilise to build strategically important and commercially valuable intellectual property. Large-scale defence contracts direct huge investment into high-tech industries. At a time when a raft of powerful new technologies are coming of age, considered and well-directed industry programs and partnerships can be truly transformative. The industrial development opportunities for Australia are extraordinary. Where is Australia placing its big bets to leverage existing research leadership? Where does Australia already have comparative advantage, and where will it partner to augment home-grown capability ? Quantum, artificial intelligence, 5G, advanced manufacturing, robotics and automation, and critical mineral processing are all part of this mix. Expert guests included: The Hon. Steven Marshall, Premier of South Australia Professor Michelle Simmons AO, CEO & Founder at Silicon Quantum Computing, Director at ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology Rear Admiral Lee Goddard , RAN, Head of Partnerships & Operations at Minderoo Foundation. For more information on what was discussed, see AUKUS brings ‘huge multiplier effect' to local industry (innovationaus.com).

Those who make up the senior cohort of cyber in gov are mainly women, and we're interested to discuss the reasons for this and how it benefits cyber as a portfolio. How much of an executive-level role in the cyber industry is about the technology, and how much is about people skills and an ability to convey the message? This episode will discuss ‘counterpoints' of how gender and diversity more generally equips business and government to be more cyber resilient.

We understand at a high level that 5G is a powerful new technology, but how this next-gen tech is harnessed ultimately comes down to its creative application by industries to solve their most pressing challenges. In this episode of Age of Trust, InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod talks to Stuart Hendry, head of global enterprise & public sector for the Asia Pacific at Nokia and Rob Le Busque, regional VP for the Asia Pacific at Verizon about how 5G can supercharge problem-solving solutions. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.

The Australian Government's goal to be a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) must be a diverse and inclusive effort if we're to better benefit from varied approaches to problem solving. This not only refers to the importance of supporting the next generation of women in STEM, but also including the voices of First Peoples as we negotiate the complexity around AI and machine learning. This discussion will focus on what the creation of ethical AI looks like from an indigenous perspective and how responsible AI and science is being combined with Indigenous knowledge to solve complex problems, both in Australia and abroad.

Members of the academic field of science will play a vital role in building the 21st century enterprises that will create solutions and jobs critical to solving complex societal problems. However, we can only ever be successful with our scientific endeavours if we can get them out of the lab and into the business landscape. Dharmica Mistry, co-founder and former chief scientist for BCAL Diagnostics and Head of medtech and biotech for Cicada Innovations, and Alistair Gordon, CEO of HFL Leadership, discuss business as a counterpoint to science, the importance of business acumen to effectively communicate its applications, and the barriers encountered by women undertaking management and leadership activity in technical fields.

Streamlining the two-way trade and investment process between Australia and the US is essential to the COVID recovery of both countries. The value of this mutual investment currently accounts for 90% of the Australian share market, and is 10 times larger than the value of our relationship with China. So what has changed in how the two countries can work together? April Palmerlee, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce In Australia (AmCham) and MJ Salier, Chief Legal Counsel at Verizon discuss how we can leverage the trust American businesses have in Australia's transparent and accountable legal and regulatory systems, and what role 5G and IoT connected devices can play in this relationship. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.

5G is a pivotal feature of connectivity. In this InnovationAus The Age of Trust podcast, NSW Government Department of Customer Service's Director Spatial Services, Wayne Patterson, and Verizon's Head of Solution Architects, Tony Harb, discuss the importance of connectivity for important, and at times critical, digital twins of real-world entities. Leveraging digital twins could create value for enterprises in Industry 4.0, address the challenges of Australia's COVID recovery to boost the economy, and support organisations in their digital transformation. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.

The Technology Council of Australia is the nation's powerful new peak industry body, launched last month with ambitions as big as the sector it represents. Huge. In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, the Tech Council's inaugural CEO Kate Pounder talks about the enormous job creation potential of the sector, and the role it will play in Australia's economic recovery.

The impact of the recent amendment to Australia's Security of Critical Infrastructure Act on smaller companies within the electricity, gas, water and maritime supply chains is yet to be fully realised. Fergus Hanson, Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's International Cyber Policy Centre and Derek Fittler, ANZ Head of Verizon Business Group discuss that while businesses across most industries generally now understand the impact and risk of a cybersecurity breach and the role they play from a vulnerability point of view, do they have the skillsets and cyber requirements to take action. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.

Martin Duursma is a partner at Australia's premier deep-tech focused venture capital outfit, Main Sequence Ventures, charged with overseeing the firm's space industry investments. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Martin talks about the massive opportunities that exist in the space industry – and the massive ambition that is being applied to securing Australia's share of it.

With the shift from in-person, bricks and mortar shopping to online shopping surging, retailers must continue to invest in innovative customer experiences – to capture revenue and offset lost sales. Among key priorities are scaling up digital, improving the ecommerce customer experience and operating efficiency, futureproofing end-to-end operating models and progressing supply chain transformation. Brad Blyth, Chief Information Officer at Kmart and Target and Mathew Wells, Global Solutions and Strategy at Verizon Business Group discuss changing retail patterns and habits, and the use of next-gen tech to drive sales and improve customer interaction. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.

The disruption of the last 18 months has driven revolutionary change, and we in turn must be revolutionary innovators that ask questions and solve problems no one else has thought of. The issues of resilience against bushfires and cyber threats came together in an Age of Trust podcast with Rear Admiral Lee Goddard CSC, RAN, head of partnership ecosystem, government relations and operations at the Minderoo Foundation and Rob Le Busque, regional vice president, Asia Pacific at Verizon. The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.

For years NSW Minister for Customer Service and Minister for Digital Victor Dominello has been the state's chief advocate for building world-class digital government services. In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, Mr Dominello talks about how the maturity of the NSW digital infrastructure has helped deliver the health and economic response to the pandemic, and how the coronavirus has reshaped digital priorities. He also talks at length on using government procurement policy to build the NSW and Australian tech industry.

Karen Dewey had a long and successful career as an executive producer in commercial television, including lengthy stints as Head of Reality and Factual at Nine Network Australia and ITV Studios, before jumping out into StartupLand as co-founder and CEO of Lumi.Media. It's platform software for the global TV production industry, and it's coming out of Australia. In this episode of The Commercial Disco, she talks to James Riley about the exhilarating ride.

Australia's Ambassador to the United States arrived in Washington in February 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading across the world. In this interview he talks about a US economy that is now roaring back to life and the opportunities this presents for Australian companies. He also charts the progress of talks on a proposed Australia-US Digital Economy Trade Agreement.

The low number of women in STEM occupations is “a national emergency”, according to the chairman of Industry Innovation and Science Australia, Andrew Stevens, who is also a member of Champions of Change, a group of CEOs and company directors working to achieve gender equality.  He recently spoke to InnovationAus CEO and publisher, Corrie McLeod, and Dominique Fisher, co-founder and CEO of Paddl Co, off the back of the Paddl Impact Accelerator Program, sponsored by Western Sydney University, with InnovationAus as the media partner and the Western National Innovation Games funded by the Australian Government and delivered by Paddl Co.

There is a need for new policy structures and funding to stimulate innovation across the economy, especially during the COVID recovery period. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, ANDHealth Chief Executive Bronwyn Le Grice and Cicada Innovations CEO Sally-Ann Williams discuss Australia's innovation ecosystem – and lament the growth of ‘innovation theatre'. Now is the time urgency, they say.

The National Archives of Australia is a literally a national treasure, the central store of the story of Australia and its people. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, James Riley talks to the archives' Director-General David Fricker about the technology challenges of maintaining access to material stored on ageing data formats – and the significant budgetary pressures that this puts on the institution.

InnovationAus' Budget Insider returns online, where the team examine treasurer Josh Frydenberg's budget and how it could affect our industry. This friendly and frank discussion is hosted by the InnovationAus team; Publisher Corrie McLeod, Editorial Director James Riley and Senior Reporter Denham Sadler. This year our expert industry guests include: Sarah Pearson, Non Executive Director and Investment Director, Nick Therkelsen-Terry, CEO and CoFounder of Max Kelsen and Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco, James Riley talks to one of Australia's foremost cyber security commentators and the CEO of the Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, Rachael Falk about building sovereign capability; what makes a successful research collaboration between government, industry and research institutions; creating innovative solutions for the ever-evolving problems and developing great IP.

Max Kelsen is one of a growing breed of fast-growing Australian AI companies. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, James Riley talks to Max Kelsen chief executive Nick Therkelsen-Terry about the growth opportunities for the software sector – and the need to governments to better target industry policy.

InnovationAus Publisher Corrie McLeod spoke with expert guests; Carrick Ryan, Former Australian Federal Agent and Political Commentator; Marie Johnson, CEO of The Centre for Digital Business and Han Aulby, Executive Director of The Centre for Public Integrity on Transparency in Government as part of InnovationAus' own Public Interest Series. The discussion covered a wide range of issues on how data intelligence could be used in the private sector to enable transparency in government and how data intelligence can be applied to the operation of the public sector.

In this episode of The InnovationAus Podcast, we talk to Dane Eldridge, the founder and chief executive of Sydney-based software development and digital transformation specialists 4mation. In a market already suffering significant shortages of digital skills, Mr Eldridge says ‘Brand Australia' should use its positive handling of the COVID pandemic to attract the best and brightest talent from overseas. We were already a lifestyle superpower he says, and now we're even more attractive.

Trailblazing mathematics scholar, Emeritus Professor Cheryl E Praeger AC, recently awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for her work in the field of mathematics talks to InnovationAus Publisher Corrie McLeod on her long career in STEM, collaborating on international joint research by sea mail in the 70's and overcoming challenges as a female in the world of mathematics.

Australia is a leader in the development of autonomous robots used in remote automation systems across a range of industries – but in the mining and resources sector in particular. Australia also has a comparative advantage in the development of industrial drone applications through its – of all things – relatively sophisticated regulatory environment. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Dr Catherine Ball talks about the opportunities for Australian companies to lead the world.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Gabrielle Upton talks about the NSW Government's recently released ‘Accelerating R&D Action Plan' that aims to make NSW a global centre in this part of the world for research and innovation. The ambitions are bold.

John-Paul Syriatowicz co-founded Australian digital transformation leader Squiz in 1998, growing the company to more than 400 employees across 13 offices around the world. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, John-Paul talks about the skills shortages facing the R&D Tax Incentive and what its like to build product in this country.

Home-grown global software giant Atlassian has published a set of ‘Eight Principles' that can help guide the development of sound tech policy as part of a renewed push to engage with government on policy formulation. In this episode of the Commercial Disco we talk to Atlassian's newly-appointed Director of Global Public Policy about the principles, as well as some of the policy challenges facing the Australian tech sector.

2020 was a landmark year across every measure. Starting with bushfires across Australia, followed by a global pandemic which brought digital transformation off our lips and firmly on everyone's agendas, the year saw transformative changes alongside devastating losses. The government made significant announcements in the fields of cyber security, hinting at state actors disrupting governments, businesses and the stability of our economy, and announced a raft of new measures to stimulate our “return beyond recession.” Business has reeled, then addressed the disruption with changing the ways we work. The future remains unclear, but in this final episode in the Age of Trust series by Verizon, Verizon President of Global Enterprise, Sowmyanarayan Sampath and Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific at Verizon Business Group Robert Le Busque talk to InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod candidly about the year that was, and how we can remain positive and future forward for the next 10 and even 20 years.     

Lyria-Bennett Moses is the Director at the Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation, a research collaboration between the Allens law firm and the University of New South Wales, where she is a Professor. The intersection of the law and new technologies is always fertile ground for incredibly interesting discussion. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Professor Moses digs deep into the myriad issues related to Predictive Policing, whereby law enforcement uses tools of growing sophistication to predict – in a probabilistic sense – where crime make take place in the future. There are a lot of issues.

5G's new standards for enterprise will open the floodgates to a host of previously infeasible applications, allowing for industrial-scale IoT networks for buildings, factories, warehouses, ports, and many other use cases. In the future, we will see companies invest in private 5G installations, which may be single-site or spread across multiple locations. In this episode of the Age of Trust series by Verizon, InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod talks to CTO of Nokia Oceania Rob Joyce, CEO of Communications Alliance, John Stanton and Verizon's SVP Enterprise Solutions /5G, Toby Eduardo Redshaw on the considerations for Australian companies. Will this be public versus cloud wars all over again? How can businesses expect to roll out private 5G networks? What are the pros and cons? And where will private 5G deployments make the most sense? The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.  

CyberArk and InnovationAus have partnered to present the Bridging the Cyber Divide: CyberSecurity - The Digital Backbone podcast series. This series will examine how cybersecurity underpins our growing digital economy. In episode one, “Securing a Digital Economy”, InnovationAus editorial director James Riley talks with the director of cyber security for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Robert Deakin and CyberArk Regional Director ANZ Thomas Fikentscher, on how Australian governments are accelerating plans to expand the way to develop our digital economies and how hyper-connectivity, mobile technology and the internet of things impacts our understanding of data, identity and cybersecurity.

Australia's mining industry is among the most competitive and most efficient in the world. It is an area in which Australia has built competitive advantage. So how do leverage the genuine scale and expertise of supply chains in the resources sector to build a globally-focused Australian technology sector. Panellists include: Larry Marshall Chief Executive at CSIRO Adrian Beer, CEO of METS Ignited Australia Sally-Ann Williams, CEO of Cicada Innovations Sharna Glover, Non-Executive Director of Robotics Australia and moderated by InnovationAus Editorial Director, James Riley.

Australian Human Rights Commissioner talks to the Commercial Disco about his deep-dive investigation of issues at the nexus of human rights and technology. “It will be to our competitive advantage if we can show to consumers overseas, that a piece of AI or new technology developed here has human rights protections baked in,” he says.

The workings of big business and government have come under intense scrutiny in recent times. The Banking Royal Commission revealed multiple instances of malfeasance. The enquiry into Victoria's hotel quarantine debacle failed to identify who authorised the use of private security firms, despite revealing details of many emails, phone conversations and text messages. Investigations like these rely on trawling vast repositories of information in search of evidence. Technology is increasingly able to streamline searches for information and even discover important details and events that were never put on record. Public Access Deputy Commissioner in the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) Joanne Kummrow talks with InnovationAus editorial director James Riley and Mimecast country manager for Australia, Nick Lennon on AI and the information discovery challenge.

Australia boasts one of the most competitive and efficient mining sectors in the world. It is a sector where Australia significant competitive advantage. But it is a sector that is also undergoing tremendous disruptive change through the impact of new technologies from artificial intelligence, robotics, remote sensoring and all forms of industrial automation. This is a challenge and opportunity for Australia. If we can reconfigure our supply chains in the Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) sector and build a strong domestic capability, we can make our mines more efficient as well as export these products and services to the world. Capability developed in our huge mining sector can be leveraged into adjacent industries ranging from agriculture and food production to defence and space.

What is behind the acquisition of Yahoo7 and Verizon media? As the world's entertainment and businesses have shifted online, what can we expect from our entertainment and information services of the future and what are the technologies driving these services? In Episode 6 of the Age of Trust series “The Future of Media, 5G and IoT” InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod talks to Verizon APAC lead Robert Le Busque and Verizon Managing Director of ANZ Paul Sigaloff on the technology that underpins the future of media. They also talk about the “Age of Human”, the personalisation and delivery of content and services through 5G, bringing together ecommerce, social interaction, AR and VR among other cutting-edge technologies and the potential for computerised cars, console-free games that span the entire world and 3D imaging in healthcare applications.

After a 50-plus year career in technology Ann Moffatt is a living legend of the Australian industry. Certainly she is a pioneer, both as a technologist and as a woman pushing ahead in an industry that became increasingly dominated by men. It's been a wild ride, and a life well-lived and Ann Moffatt has stories to tell. She has just published a memoir, ‘The IT Girl – 50 years as a woman working in the information technology sector'.

The federal Government's R&D Tax Incentive largesse should go exclusively to startups and not big business, says one of Australia's foremost software entrepreneurs. Big companies can survive without RDTI, while startups are the future of the Australian economy and need all the nurture they can get, according to Adrian Di Marco, executive chairman of Australian software company TechnologyOne.

Where previously we focused on security at the perimeter, we will start to see wholesale intellectual property and data security issues underpinning the appetite for a mass shift of human knowledge workers – this means now securing intangible assets – IP and knowledge. In Episode 5 of the Age of Trust series, “Thriving in a Post Covid-19 World”, Managing Director of EverEdge Global Michael Masterson and Client Partner of Defence and Security for Verizon, Nathan Strong talk with InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod on how to value and protect data, content, confidential information, software and brands? These are now the most important assets an organisation owns, accounting for over 87% of company value today and are the primary drivers of company growth and performance.

With this year's Data Breach Investigation Report 2020 revealing almost double the number of breaches from the previous year, we look at the findings through an Australian lens. In Episode 4 of the Age of Trust series, “Securing the Heartbeat of Knowledge – Data”,  InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod asks The Australian Federal Police's Cybercrime Operation Commander, Commander Chris Goldsmid and Operations Director of Verizon Prescott Pym; What are the main trends? What are the challenges for industries? What are organisations doing well? What are the weak points? With data becoming even more important for the 4th industrial revolution, will cyber espionage become an even greater risk in future?

As businesses head back to the drawing board to redesign their post-COVID19 strategies, there is a new opportunity to invest in the redesign of core competencies that will rebuild Australia's global competitiveness. In episode 3 of the Age of Trust series CEO of METS Ignited (Mining Equipment, Technology and Services) Adrian Beer and Head of Solution Architects for Verizon Tony Harb talk to InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod on how enterprises will use new 5G driven services to optimise the supply chain while building resilience and will this impact cyber challenges for an IoT device-driven world? What's the role of IoT? How will smart companies be taking core competencies and supercharging them with technologies?

Australian software developers complain the R&D Tax Incentive is too risky and tricky to access for their style of innovation, but there may be a quick-fire method of ensuring a software company's RDTI claim is above board. In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, James Riley talks to Innovation and Science Australia committee member and serial entrepreneur Marty Gauvin and Evado chief technologist Ross Anderson about methodologies for claiming software under the R&D tax incentive scheme.

Gilmour Space Technologies, the Australian rocket startup gunning for business from SpaceX and its Starlink satellite broadband constellation, will soon begin the search for more venture capital ahead of its premier commercial space launch in 2022.    “We are going to do another capital raise at the end of the year,” Gilmour Space Technologies chief and co-founder, Adam Gilmour, told InnovationAus.  Gilmour Space, a Queensland-based hybrid rocket launcher, raised $19 million in a Series B in 2018 from Main Sequence Ventures and Blackbird Ventures, which led a $5 million Series A round a year earlier with backing from US-based 500 Startups.