Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation Ed Husic. Source: AAP/Mick Tsikas.
Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation Ed Husic has joined startup leaders in responding to last night’s federal budget, with a general emerging consensus suggesting measures to boost the tech ecosystem are welcome, but could go further.
In an initial statement ahead of Labor’s broader response, Husic said he welcomed the investment into Australia’s AI capabilities, noting this is something he has been calling for “for a long time”.
However, he added he would reserve his judgement on the scheme until more information is available.
Budget 2021: What are tech leaders looking out for?
Rebecca Schot-Guppy is the chief executive officer at FinTech Australia.
Between the $1.2 billion digital economy plan, encouragement of foreign investment and changes to employee share schemes, tonight’s budget is shaping up to include a swathe of policies that will affect the Aussie startup ecosystem.
But there are still a few things that aren’t crystal clear just yet. So, here are four areas leaders in the startup sector are keeping an eye on.
Addressing the skills shortage
There has been a lot of talk around the tech skills shortage, and the difficultly startups face in securing the talent they need to grow their businesses.