Ceri

uhh .. it 3.49 pm and it's monday

dracupg

3.46pm Monday. Eh? Must check my watch

april

uhh.. I lost ........

jayr

How come?

Megalania

Brackish blue sea and lilly white sand under a pale aqua cloud bespotted sky, bah-humbug! Common as dazzling sunshine!

Give me wide stretches of RED watery salt and BRICK coloured sand under a dark azure sky!

SALT LAKES in Australia

Ceri

lost what? lost your watch, lost your mind?... try the clock on your w screen task bar..4.20 exactly now

Florida_03

We will have to wait and see...I think however that Australia has become a consumer of the results of the work I do and not a producer.

I have seen what the innovative of this country are capable given the right resources. Some of the work produced was world-class.

The Telecom Research Lab (TRL) produced some great stuff many years ago including the Digital Radio Concentrator System, which provided rural customers with world-class telecommunications. I think TRL is now defunk. Defunked by the accountants (the new COO's and CEO's) who read a balance sheet and only see a cost and have no imagination of the potential gain.

My mother-in-law recently bought a new fridge. Made in the USA. The whole global marketplace is in flux and there will be winners and losers. I believe Australia will lose out on the high value-added activities and remain a primary producer. The banana republic spoken of by Paul Keating is only several years away.

Megalania

And with too many banana eaters and teat suckers? Sounds like one unneccessary rationalization of your move.

Florida_03

Maybe so. I do however, feel that there is an unrealised potential in Australia. The arguments put by Snedden and then Keating are valid, are they not?

sashimi

Aus - what about:

ospreys, a variety of kites, goshawks, sea-eagles, peregrine falcons, kestrels??????

Not knocking the Brit ones, but there is a biiiiiit more than just squawking tweety things in Oz. And you gotta admit the squawking ones are a lot more colourful than the old sparrow or black bird!

sashimi

Megalania

"unrealised potential" = turning invention and development of "high technology" goods into business turnover?

There is much more business in the application of technology and greatly more in the application than in the invention.

Import the best to keep exporting the goods at which Australia excels: primary products and lightly transformed goods. Visit a large successful farm or mine and see the high technology Australia uses to maintain its lead in its field of excellence.

Pioneering the technological frontiers is a greasy pole needing a huge distribution network to be justified. Not Australia's current field of excellence.

Keating's "Banana Republic" comment was about the high current account deficit not directly about technology.

Florida_03

Snedden's Banana Republic comments were about a lack of investment and an over-reliance on primary industry.

You are right about application, and I do not think that invention is the key. However I think Australia even fails at the application level.

You are also right about Australia doing the primary production thing better than others. That's my point, if we are going to be the best at THAT then those who don't wish to do THAT look elsewhere, or are my children destined to be farmers?

It would be nice if someone could tell me what the ROI is on 10 years of research into solar-terrestrial physics. For Australia I already know the answer. Nothing, because, they would not fund it as they can't grow it or dig it out of the ground, and hence don't understand it. That sounds like unrealised potential to me.

Mandy Bale

I saw two wedge tailed eagles when I was out riding in the bush the other day, very impressive to watch. There are some really pretty little birds here too, I was starting to miss the little blue tits etc that we used to get in our garden in the UK but I have been discovering some really brilliant blue finch type birds here, not sure what they are but they are really sweet and tend to hang around where I am riding.

Mandy

Megalania

Could someone could tell me what the ROI is on 10 years of research into solar-terrestrial physics is anywhere? Better protection of artificial satellites? Australia uses more advanced communications technology than satellites - terrestrial-terrestrial optic fibres. Just put more lead around the geoscience satellite vitals. Don't see much potential there.

Add miners and light transformers to farmers, add support to said and, Yep that's it mate. You want to do high falutin stuff of on commercial consequence to Australia then don't stick around moping, find a market big enough to justify application of your prefered talent.

Florida_03

Not so. Many of the most safety-critical systems in Australia rely completely on satcoms. A couple of sats provides extremely high-reliability links.

The Swedish have invested in solar-terrestrial physics. You are right about the protection of artificial satellites. They will do it with forward prediction neural networks. We can just buy that technology of course. What do we pay? How much will the Swedes make?