What government policies are holding us back in innovation? Is business filling the innovation void? And are we creating a workforce able to take us forward?
These were just some of the questions tackled by the Herald's National Editor Tory Maguire and our special panel line-up – Jessica Irvine (Senior Economics Writer, Herald), Ralph Ashton (Director, Australian Futures Project), Dominic Price (Work Futurist, Atlassian) and Sally-Ann Williams (Engineering Community and Outreach Manager for Google Australia) – as they examined solutions to short-termism in Australian policy making related to skills and innovation.
In a broad-ranging conversation, the panel explored a host of other issues with questions from the audience including:
- Are there any politicians or parties willing to tackle this issue?
- How do people from old industries re-train for work in new industries?
- What are the best-practice innovation skills young people need to be taught?
- Is the current government policy on work visas causing a severe talent shortage?
This event was part of The Future Fix, a collaboration between the Herald and the not-for-profit Australian Futures Project, designed to address short-termism in Australian policy making.