Minister for Science and Innovation Ed Husic has rolled out a series of programs aimed at boosting Australia’s technology education pipeline, including a ‘Start Up Year’, a consultation process with universities where students can tack on an extra year of HELP-funded study to commercialise a start-up idea.

 But the recent Optus hack, and the countrywide refocusing on the sovereign capabilities of Australia, has highlighted a very difficult reality: the need for onshore investment in advanced manufacturing and local innovation combined with the desperate shortage of talent to meet this demand.

 “The incentive to offshore is stronger than ever today, precisely at the time when geopolitics makes it imperative to grow our sovereign capabilities,” Dario Valenza, founder of Carbonix, said.

 “Federal budgets should and must be sharply focused on providing real incentives to innovate, manufacture, and hire in Australia.

“They should reflect well-thought-out policies of nurturing hubs where supply chains can develop as an ecosystem. Also, they should lower admin and compliance burdens by simplifying access to grants and entitlements that offset costs imposed by regulation, where that regulation itself can’t be further simplified.”