SECURING AUSTRALIA’S

TECHNOLOGICAL INDUSTRY

GARY LEIGH

The need to protect Australian Industry and grow it

• Cyber-security as an example. Yet what I will talk to you about rings true for technology writ-large in Australia

• Australian industry solves Australian problems. Australian solutions are exportable

• I want you to keep in mind that what I’m proposing is possible. Our partners do it, we need to work with them, not just for them and become equal to them

WHAT ‘AUSTRALIAN’ INDUSTRY?

ONE PURPOSE

To protect Australia’s indigenous technological capability as to alleviate certain security pressures which enable us to become more valuable in our partnerships.

WHAT’S AUSTRALIAN ABOUT THIS PICTURE?

IMAGE COURTESY OF 1ST JOINT PUBLIC AFFAIRS UNIT AUSTRALIAN ARMY 2015 – FROM EXERCISE BLUE DIAMOND

C.O Here. You don’t tell me that the giant iPad can’t get the cricket!! Fix it.

Speechless..

IMAGE COURTESY OF 1ST JOINT PUBLIC AFFAIRS UNIT AUSTRALIAN ARMY 2015 – FROM EXERCISE BLUE DIAMOND

QUESTIONS FOR YOU• Where are the Australian products? What’s so different between our partners and us?

• Attitude? Beliefs? Structural factors?

• How many of these things do we play a central role to? Besides using them?

• Could the national security community function today without them?

• Who’s Australia’s own biggest security player? Government

• Where’s Australian industry as it stands against foreign giants?

If technology is so integral, why shouldn’t we have greater ownership of its influence?

PSYCHOLOGY“Everything psychological, is biological” – “Everything digital, is physical”• You can’t have one without the other, you need to protect both. Does Australia possess either in its own right?

• Can we do more than afford? Can we, Shape, Make, Influence, Replenish, Advise, Deter or Control?

Inattentional blindness• Are we unaware of our vulnerability, our dependence, and our ability to contribute other than as a customer

because of our expectations?

• We need to pay attention to the risks in supply, over-reliance and not carrying our weight

• Lacking indigenous Australian cyber capability whatsoever. Strong support, but doing little to change - dependency

STATE OF AFFAIRS TOMORROW

• SME’s being snapped to serve the purposes of larger organisations that are more capable

• Difficult structural conditions in Australia

• Jobs get filled that’s a fact, business doesn’t get made, innovation is out of our hands

• Working for, working with, working under

STATE OF AFFAIRS TODAY

• SME’s protected and providing services to Australia and Partners

• Structural conditions which encourage investment, innovation and manufacturing

• Being critical to the system, not just in terms of intelligence and signals.

• Leadership and mutual responsibility. Being a bigger player, not just a bigger customer

• This will not change: Dependency and symbiosis, it’s the fundamental of Australia’s security, enmeshment

THE VALUE OF CHANGE

• Equality between partners• Giving security to receive security• Higher value, higher status, higher chances to be secure• Closer to self reliance and resilience• Uninfluenced capability, true ownership• Overcome being victim to international politics• Being more secure, adding more value to partners: Being indispensable • Australian solutions for Australian problems• More to bargain with• Taking pressure off government alone, shared responsibility with Australian

industry

HOW CAN WE CHANGE

Governmental support for industry & protection

Finding niche’s and enjoying quiches

• Quick

• Unique

• Innovative

• Cheap

• Helpful

• Effective

• Secure

Genuine Australian Interest

Working with - not against our partners. It works for everyone else.

Creating conducive conditions for technology start ups and creating our own technology power houses.

Not reinventing the wheel. “Australian high quality tough”

YET THE SYSTEM WORKS, SO WHY CHANGE IT?

A TOUGH QUESTION.