Australia's food policy suffers from commodity-focused analysis that undervalues the full food system. While agricultural production accounts for 2.4% of GDP, integrated food chains contribute more, estimated at 10-15%. This blindness stems from farm-gate metrics, while consumption innovation lacks institutional support. Food has evolved beyond sustenance into cultural expression in multicultural Australia. Policy needs consumption-led approaches, recognising food's community

For the first time in many years, there is a genuine opportunity to move beyond the oppositional politics that have hindered structural reform. This new parliamentary composition—more diverse but potentially less fractious—opens the door to building coalitions of the willing for major national reform. If we are to grasp this political moment, we must also confront the structural ambiguity that has long undermined innovation policy in this country. 

Australia's innovation policy faces a blind spot: the systematic neglect of common knowledge that enables breakthrough innovations to scale and endure. While current frameworks excel at measuring patents and R&D expenditures, they overlook the tacit expertise, institutional practices, and professional networks that serve as innovation's connective tissue. This Insight reveals how integrating common knowledge with proprietary systems can transform Australia's innovation perfor

Since 1963, Australia’s federal industry portfolio has been restructured more than 20 times. This extraordinary level of administrative churn exposes a deeper crisis: a persistent uncertainty about the purpose, priorities, and pathways of industrial policy. This Innovation Insight calls for a reevaluation of institutional maturity—one that strikes a balance between executive flexibility and enduring strategic direction.

Ministerial speeches at the start of a new tenure rarely change the course of history, but they do set the tone and expectations. When Senator Tim Ayres addressed the CRA Collaborate Innovate Conference on 20 May, he stepped into a familiar ritual in the ebb and flow of policy leadership: the scene-setting speech. For a minister with just a week on the job, the question is not “Did he deliver a new vision?” but “How well did he manage the balancing act between expectation and

In today’s constrained fiscal environment, governments are rightly asking hard questions. Why should public funds support innovation districts and precincts unless there is clear evidence of productivity uplift, industry renewal, or public benefit? This Insight explores the economic, industrial, and civic value of innovation ecosystems. It argues for a shift in focus—from short-term outputs to long-term productivity gains. It also offers a practical framework for measuring wh

Australia's Future Made in Australia strategy risks building the factories of tomorrow while outsourcing their digital brains. This new Innovation Insight argues that Computer and Information Services (CIS)—including software, AI, and cloud platforms—must be recognised as essential infrastructure, not an afterthought. This Insight proposes a dedicated Digital Enablement stream into the FiMA National Interest Framework. Without this, we risk building yesterday’s industries wit

Despite decades of consensus that Australia must diversify beyond resource dependence, policy action has repeatedly stalled. This new Insight from the Acton Institute unpacks this paradox as a slow-moving crisis—a systemic drift that erodes capability, legitimacy, and future prosperity. The Insight explores why structural reform so often fails, and argues that policy effectiveness in the 21st century depends not just on what governments do, but how they make sense of what mus

Crises aren’t just moments of danger—they’re windows of opportunity for transformative change. This Innovation Insight explores why mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP) has become a global force for tackling society’s biggest challenges. The secret behind MOIP is a compelling narrative that empowers governments to move beyond simply “fixing” markets and instead actively shape them, fostering innovation that addresses real-world needs, to reframe policy, for the public

Gavin Keeley and Dalene Wray*, 6 February 2025 The Regional Development Australia (RDA) Moreton Bay-Sunshine Coast region presents one of...