AQ: Australian Quarterly 93.2 Apr-June 2022

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As I write this, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is about to tick over into its 4th week. The world has witnessed heroic resistance from the Ukrainian people and callous, intentional terror from the Russians. Covid taught us how personally interconnected we all are, from patientzero to a global pandemic. This senseless war is underscoring how interconnected our international systems are – energy, resources, economies. International politics has always been defined by brinksmanship. Yet it is only when someone doesn’t blink and instead tips up the table, that you see the house of cards for what it is. Everything – whether it is geopolitics, resource utilisation, or economic prosperity – has intentionally been set up to teeter on the point of collapse, because that is where profit-maximisation and expense-minimisation intersect. In…

Actually, it’s more complicated than that. While we’ve thankfully avoided anything like the extent and ferocity of the Black Summer fires, the last two relatively wet years have still seen hundreds of fires – some with significant impacts – across the Australian landscape, as verified by agency and satellite records. It’s not only Australia. The planet is burning as we speak, with thousands of active fires concentrated in the tropics…So where are the sirens? Where are the headlines? Even now in wet NSW, the Fires Near Me app currently lists 11 incidents, 3 of which are out of control. And it’s not only Australia. The planet is burning as we speak, with thousands of active fires concentrated in the tropics, varying fuel type, size, intensity and impact. So where are…

‘The term ‘place-based’… is currently used to describe a range of approaches, from grant-making in a specific geographic area to long-term, multifaceted collaborative partnerships aimed at achieving significant change. In most cases, it is more than just a term to describe the target location of funding; it also describes a style and philosophy of approach which seeks to achieve ‘joined-up’ systems change.’ Lankelly Chase. (2017). Historical review of place-based approaches. Place-based work has a long history in Australia.2 While there are many definitions of ‘place-based’ – such as that quoted above – at their core, place-based approaches are an attempt to move away from centralised methods to driving social improvement, towards collaborative, long-term approaches which span organisational boundaries and sectors. Recognising that complex or “wicked” social problems cannot be solved…

From their headquarters in Helensvale on the Gold Coast, Adam and James Gilmour are shooting for the stars. The founders of Gilmour Space Technologies, an InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence winner, have turned their start-up into one of Australia’s leading space companies as they pioneer hybrid propulsion technologies that offer the prospect of cheaper access to space. As the business prepares to send a small launch vehicle into space later this year, the success story is just one of many that can be told in Queensland, where State Government support has helped give entrepreneurs a launch pad to chase their dreams. FIND THE BEST PEOPLE, GET THEM ON BOARD, GIVE THEM SPACE AND TIME, AND THEN GET OUT OF THE WAY In the aerospace sector alone, Queensland’s innovation culture is…

In 2019…brain-related disorders cost Australia over $74 billion per annum and constituted over 20% of the burden of disease in Australia Brain science is the scientific study of the nervous system and its functions, including behaviour and thinking. The applications of brain science are diverse, crossing the health and medical sectors, education, psychology and behavioural science, law and ethics, defence, environmental issues including climate change, and food production. Australian brain science is experiencing a major problem. In 2019, it was estimated that brain-related disorders cost Australia over $74 billion per annum and constituted over 20% of the burden of disease in Australia.1 Yet despite an abundance of research talent and innovation, early and mid-career brain scientists are leaving the research sector at an alarming rate, primarily due to job insecurity.2…