Premier Nathan Rees has taken a leaf out of PM Rudd’s book with his own jobs summit and posed the question: what are the types of industries NSW needs to foster to get our state economy back on track in the years ahead?
A few unions and universities are jumping on the bandwagon with fairly predictable (but practical) proposals. Naturally, if we can use our existing industries to boost the emergence of newer greener industries … it’s a no-brainer, e.g. supplying the steel for the blades of wind turbines has been suggested.
My personal belief is that we have to think outside the usual nine dots and concentrate on commercialising the research and development already underway in our universities.
For starters we could investigate all the theses of current PhD students and identify which ones are linked to emerging technologies or existing industries still predicting strong growth. Special emphasis could be placed on intellectual property which is or can be patented.
Most people involved in R&D in this country will tell you the biggest hindrance to exploiting these opportunities in the past has been the lack of financial support in the form of risk capital and this is something governments could actually do something about. Even a very small fraction of the billions still being pumped into our super funds each year would do the trick!
Anyway, here’s an idea which I think has some merit since it meets all my suggested tests and would benefit virtually everyone in the community; I call it the Smart City Initiative.
First some background. The 21st century has been accurately identified as the Information Age, analogous to previous important eras such as the Industrial Age (19th century) and the dispersion and access to information in the present day is inextricably linked with the internet, specifically search technology. Whilst search engines have largely conquered the global challenges, the potential of ‘local internet’ is still largely untouched.
Research undertaken over the past eight years has placed Your Online Community Pty Limited, a Wollongong based internet start-up, at the forefront of local search ( see www.wollongong.smartpages.com.au ) and the role of social networks ( see www.wollongong.youronlinecommunity.com.au ) the publishers of WollongongOnline.
The proposed initiative enshrines the local university as the web centre point and knowledge gatekeeper of all local digital content. This approach elevates all locally based content in terms of online visibility (specifically Page 1 on most Google SERPs) and also enables greater editorial control through the use of suitably trained moderators, i.e. content can be guaranteed to be family friendly.
Access to other locally based organisations can be improved vastly and communication costs reduced - not to mention the improvement in social capital and competitive advantage for all locals. Some specific improvements could include:
• Improved communication – all companies including those without websites or email will be contactable through a simple Google search.
• Any local listed company can be contacted online by simply entering the first four letters of their company name (or product category).
• All indexed categories will appear on first page of Google. Most in top 3 spots. The cost to achieve this is infinitesimal compared to traditional SEO or paid search.
Some examples of local organisations/industries I think could benefit greatly from the Smart City Initiative here in Wollongong:
1) Tourism – web based promotion
2) Any local business or exporter
3) UOW Media Studies – blogs, videos, etc.
4) WCC – interact with citizens
5) I3net
6) UOW Science Centre
7) Smart media – Innovation Campus
8) Retirement Homes – community involvement
9) All sports codes
10) Any non-profit organisation
But the main point is that this proposal is so inclusive – virtually any organisation in the local community could access/support/participate. Another big plus, it would be fully moderated so it would have family-friendly content, and this means you don’t need the contentious internet filters to block undesirables anymore.
I believe the initiative ticks numerous boxes for UOW, RDA, local business chamber and all levels of government, a real WIN/WIN. And in Wollongong the technical infrastructure is already in place – all that is required is funding to start collecting and compiling the content.
Of course, the big payoff would be - once this initiative was in place and functioning properly - that it could be licensed and replicated state-wide, country-wide and even globally.
Now that would be really smart!
The elephant in the room
Business leaders used to be congratulated for creating new jobs and successful public companies recorded any increased numbers of employees in their annual reports with great pride.
How things have changed, with many of our highest remunerated executives now being rewarded for destroying jobs! It would seem the more job losses the higher the boss’s bonuses, if Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank are to be used as local examples – over 10,000 in each case.
Of course, management will usually respond they are protecting the jobs of all the employees fortunate enough to still hold positions in their industry, and if they don’t act in their shareholders’ interests the company will not even have a future in these testing economic times.
The manufacturing industry was on the receiving end of a very public coup de grace when Pacific Brands announced last week that 1,850 employees will be sacked over the next year as the company shuts down its clothing manufacturing in Australia.
But is there any alternative? Can we stem the increasing torrent of job losses brought on by the global financial crisis? And can our governments compel private enterprise to operate inefficiently for social rather than economic reasons?
Whilst we can all empathise with NSW workers in Bonds factories in Cessnock, Wentworthville and Unanderra and King Gee in Bellambi the sad fact of life is that in the 21st century you need growing, globally competitive industries to create, or even just maintain, real jobs.
And clearly this most basic of industries does not fit the required mould.
Think about it.
- Material costs are high.
- Labour costs are high.
- All our safety and compliance costs are high.
- Our state and federal taxes are high … I could go on.
Virtually all inputs are expensive - and our market size, on a global scale, is small.
Forget about the branding. If you think the average Aussie shopper will pay a premium to purchase an iconic locally produced product, in the middle of a global crisis… well, just ask Dick Smith.
Say no more. | 
