Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak this evening about the Turnbull government's hollow words and inaction on innovation. The Turnbull government is all talk and no action on innovation. When it comes to innovation, the Turnbull government has been a big disappointment. It has cut $30 billion out of schools and dumped the Gonski reforms, it has botched the rollout of the NBN, it has backed cuts to CSIRO and it has underfunded Australia's innovation activity. If Mr Turnbull really wants to be taken seriously on innovation, he needs to do a lot better than the overhyped innovation statement last December and his glossy 'Ideas Boom' ad campaign that is costing us more than $28 million.

Labor has always understood that innovation should be a national economic priority and that innovation is not something that just occurs in our capital cities. That is why it was with great delight that I was able to visit some excellent start-ups with shadow parliamentary secretary for digital innovation and start-ups, Ed Husic, in Launceston last week. I would like to thank Launceston's Foundry, Macquarie House Innovation Hub, the Innovation Circle, Bitlink and Definium Technologies for meeting with us. Launceston is leading the way in this space, and Tasmania has a bright future with these great creators. The vibe and energy of these local organisations and world leaders was catching. They are proof that there is no point talking about innovation without talking about Tasmania. If we are going to have a national conversation, we cannot have that conversation without talking about Tasmania. We have so much to contribute to this area. Labor believes that government has a vital role to play in encouraging the spread of innovation activities across the country, and Tasmania has a big part to play in that effort. If we are not involving our regions in our push to be smarter and more innovative then we are selling ourselves short.

The fact is that, if you are not investing in education, you cannot be serious about innovation. If we do not get the basics right in our schools, colleges and universities, we cannot aspire to a future that is smart, innovative or agile. It was also good to meet with the colleges in Tasmania last week who are getting it right and investing in this space and building digital technologies into their curriculum. You cannot have innovation without having a strong education system, and, when it comes to our schools, the government's policies on education risk dragging Australia's innovation capacities backwards. If Malcolm Turnbull were really serious about innovation and skills—