Consecutive Federal Governments have for years espoused the importance of innovation in our economy so that opportunities in investment and employment continue to arise in a meaningful way. No longer is creativity a term confined to the arts or cultural sectors, but now also belongs with commercialisation of research or extending existing capabilities.
Expenditure on research and development is integral to this creativity, but it is also interesting to reflect upon the downstream consequences of this activity. One objective for a buoyant economy is to maximise export trade, and here we consider Australia’s performance in recent years.
Whereas statistical data clearly demonstrates that Australia’s economy is dominated by service industries, it could be considered a paradox that more than 80% of our export trade in most recent years is from goods, particularly commodities from our mining sector. Perhaps not surprisingly then, more than half the dollar value of all exported goods have come from literally a few hundred exporters while more than two-thirds of that same value emerge from just Western Australia and Queensland.
This domination of export trade by the mining sector is considered by many to be cyclical and feeds the Government’s desire for a more resilient economy characterised by both diversity and steady growth. Consequently, R&D initiatives such as funding or tax incentives become key planks in Government policy and Eundo’s stands ready to assist clients achieve excellent results from these programs.
