By Ehsan Noroozinejad, Western Sydney University Australia is in the grip of a severe housing shortage. Many people are finding it extremely difficult to find a place to live in the face of rising rents and property price surges. Homelessness is rising sharply. Tent cities are becoming more common. The federal government has pledged to…
After a series of profiles, some featuring companies that seem a sure thing to transform the industries they operate in, our always-enjoyable Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign is heading down the proverbial home straight. We’ve had the privilege of talking to some incredible manufacturing leaders so far, featuring them in stories on this website…
Daniel Rossetto, University of Adelaide Financial challenges at the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia have reignited debate about the nation’s steel industry and its future. Australians should have access to quality steel at competitive prices. The domestic steel production industry employs tens of thousands of people. The state and federal governments have stepped in, however,…
By Geoffrey Brooks, Swinburne University of Technology Whyalla is a proud steel town. The steelworks physically dominates the townscape, and most jobs in the town are either directly at the steelworks or heavily reliant on it. In recent months, however, the steelworks have lurched from one setback to another, from serious technical problems that forced…
By Sandy Plunkett It is a sad indictment of Australian business complacency that in 2025 – when the world economy and geopolitics are being transformed by AI and data, biomedical and materials sciences, advanced manufacturing and defence technologies – we are still having to explain that innovation is the driver of every modern economy and…
By Scott French, UNSW Sydney US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stated an exemption for Australia from Trump’s executive order placing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imported into the US is “under consideration”. But prospects remain uncertain. Albanese would do well to secure an exemption using similar arguments as…
By Scott French, UNSW Sydney In a hectic 24 hours of trade diplomacy, US President Donald Trump has paused his threatened 25% tariffs on US imports from Canada and Mexico, while keeping 10% tariffs on imports from China. Australian companies with operations in Canada or Mexico such as Rio Tinto, whose Canadian operations export billions…
South Australia is set to enhance its role in national defence with a new drone radio communications production line, part of the DEF129 Uncrewed Aerial Systems project. This development follows the Albanese Government’s commitment to invest over $100 million in bolstering the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) drone capabilities, including the integration of Australian-made Sypaq Systems…
By Tessa Leach, Monash University and Anna Malos, Monash University Aluminium is an exceptionally useful metal. Lightweight, resistant to rust and able to be turned into alloys with other metals. Small wonder it’s the second most used metal in the world after iron and demand is set to soar. But aluminium comes at a cost…
By John Quiggin, The University of Queensland Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s plan for nuclear power in Australia has provoked a great deal of discussion and analysis – most of it critical. Experts point out the Coalition’s long-awaited modelling involves both highly optimistic costings and a massively lower demand for electricity than expected in official projections. In…