Fed: We need technology, R&D and Asia: Keating

AAP General News (Australia)
04-26-2001
Fed: We need technology, R&D and Asia: Keating

SYDNEY, April 26 AAP - Australia's economic future lies in new technologies and marketing
intellectual property, former prime minister Paul Keating said today.

Mr Keating said Australia's technology industry needed to work more closely with Asian
companies to develop and add value to electronic products.

"The days of a stand-alone business like AWA seem to be gone forever but that doesn't
mean we can't build a solid future in the value-added research, design and development
end of the industry," he said.

Speaking at a consumer electronics convention, Mr Keating said Australia had high quality
research and development capabilities but engineers and scientists were not good at marketing
their products.

He said they tended to be too possessive of their intellectual property and tried to
develop it without outside investment.

"Our universities and tertiary institutions produce engineers and scientists who are
broadly educated rather than narrowly specialists," he said.

"We are less good at marrying research with commercial development and at understanding
the international commercial environment in which we have to operate.

"We need to do a better job of teaching engineers how to protect intellectual property
and how to commercialise it."

Mr Keating said Australia did not have the population or low costs to support a large
technology manufacturing base, but by specialising in certain areas and working with Asia
it could carve out a niche in the global market.

The former PM also warned against increasing trade barriers or returning to the days
of high tariffs and subsidised industries.

"The first thing we must do is cement a culture of economic and social openness," he said.

"We can't allow ourselves to waste energy on the fool's errand of trying to bring back
a mythical golden age by closing ourselves off against the world and propping up protected
industries.

"Australia is richer and our people lead better lives because of globalisation."

AAP jh/rp/jnb

KEYWORD: KEATING TECHNOLOGY

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