🏈 Political football
The investigation into the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) shows why innovation bodies can't afford to make governance mistakes in Australia's political environment.
Innovation policy in Australia has long been a political football. While governments overseas have offered the sector sustained, bipartisan support, Australia has lurched from one short-term initiative to the next — only to see them dismantled when governments change.
The National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) set out to change that trajectory.
The biggest innovation policy since changes to venture capital structures helped spur the Australian VC industry in the early 2000s, the NRF aimed to provide the kind of patient, long-term capital that the innovation ecosystem desperately needs. With $15 billion in funding over a decade, it represented a genuine attempt to build Australia's sovereign industrial capability and diversify our economy beyond the resources sector.
Capital Brief’s revelations this week are a reminder of the sort of governance lapses that can prove fatal for innovation initiatives in Australia’s highly charged political environment.
The NRF was always going to attract fierce criticism. During the 2025 election campaign Peter Dutton pledged to scrap it entirely if the Coalition won government. Innovation initiatives are easy targets — the investments often seem esoteric to voters, the returns take years to materialise and the link between public spending and economic benefit isn't immediately obvious.
