New Australian innovation minister appointed – StartupSmart

A federal cabinet reshuffle has resulted in the appointment of the third innovation minister since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull unveiled his innovation agenda in December 2015.

Senator Arthur Sinodinos will take over the industry, innovation and science portfolios from Greg Hunt, after Hunt was appointed as the new minister for health and minister for sport on Wednesday morning.

Sussan Ley held the health portfolio before stepping aside last week after scrutiny over her use of parliamentary entitlements. 

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the innovation portfolio remains critical for generating the jobs of the future.

“Senator Sinodinos’ extensive public policy experience gives him a strong understanding of the key drivers of new sources of economic growth,” Turnbull said this morning.

When the government launched its suite of innovation policies 12 months ago, Christopher Pyne headed up the portfolio, before Hunt took over in July 2016.

In December Hunt said the second wave of the government’s innovation policies would be rolled out across 2017 and 2018.

Read SmartCompany‘s 12-month report card on the innovation agenda’s rollout here.

This article was originally published on SmartCompany. 

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