Can Husic pick up where Turnbull left off with Labor's $15b innovation bet?
There’s a lot riding on the success of the National Reconstruction Fund, including playing catch up to other countries that have nurtured sectors with committed government support.
Ed Husic has a lot riding on the success of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, and by his own admission he’s impatient to get things moving.
"Unfortunately for the NRF, they've got one of the most impatient ministers in the government that's attached to them and I'm really focused on getting us moving on this fund,” says the federal Minister for Industry and Science.
Husic is the first politician to try to elevate innovation to the top of the political agenda since Malcolm Turnbull did it as prime minister with the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) in 2015.
It’s still early days though. The NRF board only held its first meeting a few months ago, and just last week the government released the investment mandate, declaring the fund “open for business” after receiving 200 applications.
