THE VICTORIAN VERNIER SOCIETY Luncheon at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in April (under Chatham House Rules) brought together senior voices from industry, policy and innovation to examine a familiar but unresolved question:
Why Australia continues to struggle to convert strong ideas into scaled economic outcomes.
The discussion moved between innovation, R&D systems, and the commercial realities facing emerging industries. A consistent theme emerged around the disconnect between policy intent and industry execution — not for lack of ambition, but for lack of alignment and shared operating rhythm across government, universities and business.
This tension is hardly unique to Australia.
It echoes across most industries in most countries. The notable exception, of course, is China, where the question of alignment between government, industry and academia is largely settled by design; the government leads and the State-owned enterprises and major private companies operate with an understanding that national economic goals take precedence.
When Beijing says semiconductors, EVs or solar manufacturing are the priority – capital, talent and universities all move in that direction. Fast.
Universities are instrumentalised toward national economic goals rather than operating independently. Research priorities align with state strategy by default. The regulatory environment can be rewritten quickly to enable rather than constrain, because the same authority that sets the goal also controls the rules. Whatever one thinks of the model, the execution gap that plagues democratic economies is, for China, simply not a problem they choose to have.
Australia does have a lot of government support for commercialisation.
Programs like Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO))the National Reconstruction Fund, and the new Australia’s Economic Accelerator are explicitly aimed at bridging the “valley of death” between research and market. There are also the R&D Tax Incentive and Industry Growth Program grants for early-stage commercialisation.
Funding exists, but accessing it is another challenge.
Many of Australia’s commercialisation grants come with rigorous qualification hurdles: matched funding requirements, proof-of-concept milestones, industry partnerships and lengthy application processes. For many founders, the hardest part of innovation is surviving long enough to qualify.
Editor: Before the formal discussion began, a lighter moment set the tone. Sitting beside a cybersecurity specialist, I asked with genuine curiosity,  “What is Australia’s biggest cybersecurity risk”?
Without missing a beat, the answer came casually
“Easy. The influx of cat images and videos being downloaded.” ~~~
A reminder that even in serious conversations about risk and resilience, humour still finds its place.
This event recap is produced in accordance with Chatham House principles. No remarks are attributed to any individual participant.
ABOUT VICTORIAN VERNIER SOCIETY:
The Victorian Vernier Society (officially Victorian Vernier Society Inc.) is a professional organisation based in Melbourne that advocates for the value of engineering and manufacturing in Australia . Named after Pierre Vernier, the inventor of the high-precision Vernier scale, the society serves as a forum for networking, knowledge sharing, and promoting industrial excellence . It’s an invitation-only organisation . Its members include Engineering consultants and professional engineers, scientists, company owners, directors, and general managers and corporate members.
Core Activities and Structure are Networking luncheons, Plant Tours, Advocacy
The Vernier Foundation: Established in 2000, the Vernier Foundation is the society’s charitable arm . Its primary goals are to attract young people to careers in engineering and manufacturing .
You can find more information about their mission and upcoming events on the official Vernier Society website or their Facebook page .
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