{"id":54313,"date":"2023-10-20T16:27:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/shorten-takes-on-turnbull-to-stake-out-startup-path-to-the-future-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T16:27:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T16:27:10","slug":"shorten-takes-on-turnbull-to-stake-out-startup-path-to-the-future-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/shorten-takes-on-turnbull-to-stake-out-startup-path-to-the-future-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Shorten takes on Turnbull to stake out startup \u201cpath to the future\u201d – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has announced a \u201csecond wave\u201d of policies that Labor will be taking to the election with the aim of making Australia a \u201cstartup nation\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The $17.8 million policy package includes efforts to encourage young Australians to enter the startup world, visas to entice international entrepreneurs to set up shop here, and ways to bring innovation to government decision-making.<\/p>\n

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Shorten told StartupSmart <\/i>it\u2019s all about making sure Australia is competitive in the global race to \u201ccapture the jobs of the future\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOver the next two decades if we get our startup policies right, there\u2019s another half a million jobs,\u201d Shorten says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re in a race with the rest of the world for jobs and growth, for quality growth and fairness.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLabor\u2019s plan for securing jobs involves capital, skills, platform infrastructure, collaboration, working with government and culture.<\/p>\n

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\u201cStartups manifest a lot of these things; they\u2019re indices of success if the policies are in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Startups have recently been placed at the forefront of Australian politics with new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull placing a strong emphasis on innovation and new technologies in both his first acceptance speech and subsequent cabinet reshuffle.<\/p>\n

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The competition to win over the Australian startup community has begun, with Shorten saying the public should looks towards the government\u2019s history with things like the NBN, rather than the startup rhetoric.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Liberal party can talk about things, but you\u2019ve got to look at their record,\u201d Shorten says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve been in it for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Shorten announced the raft of new policies at a press conference at Tank Stream Labs in Sydney today.<\/p>\n

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The first wave of Labor policies regarding innovation came in Shorten\u2019s 2015 budget reply, where he focused mostly on STEM education. The policies included emphasis on coding in schools, scholarships for STEM teachers, as well as a $500 million Smart Investment Fund.<\/p>\n

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Shorten says the new host of reforms that Labor will be bringing to next year\u2019s election are all about giving power to entrepreneurial individuals.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m a big believer in empowerment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEmpowered individuals in control of their lives create quality growth and fair communities are the best seed-bed for innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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HECS-style loans for <\/b>young entrepreneurs<\/b><\/p>\n

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The flagship reform of the \u201csecond wave\u201d is the introduction of income-contingent loans for final year university students or recent graduates looking to establish a startup in an accelerator or incubator.<\/p>\n

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The \u2018Startup Year\u2019 involves a HECS-style loan of up to $10,000 for 2000 students or graduates each year, with the aim of encouraging more educated young Australians to move directly into the tech sector.<\/p>\n

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To be eligible for the Startup Year, young entrepreneurs would have to be participating in an \u201caccredited program\u201d such as a university or external accelerator.<\/p>\n

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Recipients would start paying back the loan in instalments once they are earning $54,000 annually.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you look at the ages of successful startup businesses, it\u2019s when people are testing ideas, they\u2019ve been learning and have a lot of imagination that the system hasn\u2019t beaten out of them yet,\u201d Shorten says.<\/p>\n

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Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin, the CEO of accelerator BlueChilli,<\/a> says he thinks this is a \u201cgood initiative\u201d, but only if the right controls are put in place.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m not normally one to advocate for tight controls in this area, but this needs to have strict controls around it,\u201d Eckersley-Maslin says. \u201cIt could potentially be exploited.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe idea of having the funds deployed through registered training or accredited providers is the right way to go about it, or else you\u2019ll just be handing out $10,000 so people can extend their Schoolies.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The risks associated with this scheme are low, Shorten says, with a lot of requirements to be put in place.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s where the 43 universities come into being,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s very low risk, with a high reward.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a good investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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AngelCube founder<\/a> Adrian Stone says fundamentally he supports this new proposed policy.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s definitely innovative thinking, and it\u2019s great that they\u2019re looking at unemployed graduates,\u201d Stone says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI support it, with a few tweaks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The $10,000 loan might also be not enough to convince graduates to forgo a stable job in favour of operating a startup, Eckersley-Maslin says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEntrepreneurs will do it anyway, and $10,000 is unfortunately not enough to make an impact on someone moving across, but it will support people who are doing it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019ll create more bodies and groups that\u2019ll be able to support entrepreneurs and give them somewhere to deploy money. Just like HECS helps higher education bodies, this will help startup-based accelerators and incubators.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bringing international talent to Australia<\/b><\/p>\n

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The reform package also includes two new visa categories aimed at global entrepreneurs and graduating international students.<\/p>\n

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The Startup Entrepreneurial Visa is aimed at 2000 entrepreneurs from around the world looking to set up shop in Australia. Labor says it\u2019ll be targeted at individuals with access to around $200,000 which can then be invested in a startup venture in Australia.<\/p>\n

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The Global Startup Entrepreneurial Visa will go to 2000 international exchange graduates, allowing them to stay in Australia for one year to establish a business.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re going to open the doors to 2000 of the brightest people in the world to have the chance to have a visa in Australia and back in their ideas,\u201d Shorten says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cQuite often what happens is when they finish their degree they head back to their home country. We want to encourage some of them to stay in Australia and back in their idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Innovation competitions<\/b><\/p>\n

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Also included in the package is the creation of an online portal for government agencies to upload challenges for the public to solve.<\/p>\n

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Along the same lines as Challenge.gov in the US, Shortens says the AusGoV Challenge Platform is a 21st<\/sup> century version of something that has taken place since the 18th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

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Labor is committing spending $5 million to establish a trial of the platform, which will run competitions between ten to 12 agencies seeking to identify \u201cnew approaches to utilising data, technology and analytics to solve their policy and management challenges\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The opposition has also vowed to support pre-commercial collaboration with startups and SMEs by giving them a \u201cfood in the door\u201d with procurement tenders.<\/p>\n

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This funding will be at two levels, with the first phase providing a $100,000 grant for research and development and the second giving up to $1 million for proof-of-concept. Overall this reform will cost $5 million.<\/p>\n

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The last part of the package is the establishment of the Innovation Investment Partnership, which aims to bring together VC, superannuation funds and startup stakeholders in one place.<\/p>\n

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\u201cInnovation doesn\u2019t wait for elections\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

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With Malcolm Turnbull leading the government\u2019s new focus on startups and innovation, Labor are striving to differentiate themselves and prove their credentials in this area as it shapes up to be a major battleground at the 2016 federal election.<\/p>\n

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Labor has identified one area where they believe they can land some blows, the NBN.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMalcolm Turnbull has been talking about a digital future but for two years he has been responsible for rolling out the backbone of that digital future \u2013 the National Broadband Network,\u201d the Labor policy paper says.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe NBN has been rolling out more slowly than Malcolm Turnbull promised and it will now cost much more than Malcolm Turnbull promised.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Shorten adds that there\u2019ll be more policy announcements in this area to come.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ll have more to say about research and more to say about taxation, but these are great ideas,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBy all means let\u2019s have a debate about the best path to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

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New minister for industry, innovation and science Christopher Pyne issued a press release today<\/a> criticizing Labor\u2019s new policy announcement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Turnbull government wants to encourage ideas for greater innovation and entrepreneurship, but they need to be good ideas,\u201d Pyne says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cInnovation has to be more than a political buzzword; it\u2019s the only option for our economy if we are to maintain our current standard of living.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhile Labor appears to have a sudden newfound desire to promote innovation in Australia, a better start would be for them to support the China Free Trade Agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Startup-advocate and Labor MP Ed Husic says he\u2019s willing to work with the other side on these policies if they are, saying \u201cinnovation doesn\u2019t wait for elections\u201d.<\/p>\n

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For the Australian startup community, the positive thing seems to be that both the government and the opposition are throwing their full support behind innovation and new technologies, even if hopes for bipartisanship may not eventuate.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBoth major parties are increasingly making innovation a key priority area in order to ensure Australia remains competitive and prosperous,\u201d StartupAUS CEO Peter Bradd says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cStartups will benefit from this increased attention, but the economy as a whole will be the real winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Eckersley-Maslin agrees.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s awesome we have bipartisan support on startups and innovation,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe future is bright for entrepreneurs in this country, and it needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Want to grow your business with Instagram? <\/i>StartupSmart School can help.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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