The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has commended the federal government on ‘its visionary plans’ to provide up to $83 million to early stage start-up companies bringing promising new technologies and services to the market.

ACS national chairman, Kumar Parakala. said the government’s acknowledgement of innovative technology as a key to Australia’s economic recovery was a timely coup for the ICT sector which, he claimed, had  remained “an invisible driver of our economy for too long.”

Parakala said outside of the resources sector, there were two inputs to the economy – people and ICT – and so much of Australia’s economic focus had historically been on resources, and “this has obscured the incredible opportunities offered by the innovative SMEs within our Australian technology sector.”

He commended the government and the Minister for showing visionary leadership in its announcement of the setting up of the Innovation Investment Follow on Fund (IIFF).

“This the sort of visionary leadership we have been encouraging governments to take for many years, and this fund will go a long way towards protecting existing technology start-ups, which we agree is critical in this period of economic uncertainty.
 
“However we need to go beyond a reactive protection strategy.  We need a visionary long-term growth plan for the ICT sector.  The ACS would like to see the government go a step further in the federal budget with the appropriate investment in the sector for the benefit of our overall economy.”

Parakala said he was especially pleased to see Senator Carr’s recognition of green energy developments as this was an area that could offer Australia a genuine export advantage in the future.

“Australia is a natural home for green technology innovation.  We have some of the most pressing environmental concerns within our own country, we are heavily reliant on the energy sector and we need to urgently identify green solutions.”
 
Parakala said Australia had a long history of innovation and the skills to work on these areas to generate groundbreaking solutions which have potential to power the Australian economy into the long-term future.