Australian businesses must be more willing to invest in long-term innovation, ahead of short-term shareholder returns, if the economy is to thrive in a high interest rate environment and increasingly digital global economy, a forum of the country’s technology leaders has warned.

The topics of business investment in research and development, large redundancy rounds during a skills shortage, and the reignition of national enthusiasm for innovation policy were high on the agenda as Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic joined a group of leaders from the technology sector for The Australian Financial Review’s Editors Forum in Sydney this month.