Australia: get over the tall poppy syndrome - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Australia: get over the tall poppy syndrome

By Vivienne Fisher, ZDNet Australia
September 05, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Australia-get-over-the-tall-poppy-syndrome/0,139023166,120267941,00.htm

Developing new technologies is high on the list of achievements for a number of other countries. How does Australia rate in comparison?

Ultrawideband, mesh networking and nanotechnology are among the areas Austrade's Peter Lewis lists as where Australia could potentially lead in technology development.

As global team leader of ICT at government trade agency Austrade, Lewis comes across companies trying to break into overseas markets and persuade industry leaders abroad that Australian companies have what it takes. "We really have to be able to better sell ourselves," he said.

But being seen as a great holiday destination, known for its beaches and farms just doesn't cut it when Australian businesses are trying to show that the country is also involved in technology development.

Lewis believes Australia has very real expertise in areas such as wireless. He sees ultrabroadband--which Lewis describes as devices that can transmit on billions of frequencies simultaneously but at very low power--as a particular area of potential growth.

Learning to sell ourselves as a region which develops new technologies is something else we need to get better at, Lewis argued.

ICT is one of the sectors--together with biotechnology and professional services--which Austrade is pointing to as offering future wealth creation in the knowledge economy space in Australia.