Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm forecasts Australia’s significant dependence on natural resources may not last “forever.” In that sense, she encouraged the Australian government and related industries to turn the country into a spot where technology startups can prosper during a Wednesday business forum in Brisbane.
Australian publication AAPNews noted that Ms. Denholm’s remarks came just a few days before Tesla’s disclosed its 2023 financial results, following the announcement of an 83% delivery growth to over 466,000 EVs in Q2 2O23.
Tesla Chair says Australia’s luck may run out if it does not change lanes on the economy
Apart from being a Tesla Chair, Ms. Robyn Denholm is also the Technology Council of Australia Chair.
She emphasized that even if Tesla depended on Australian minerals, the country count lean on its traditional industries to remain competitive globally.
“While mining and agriculture will always be a strong pillar for our economy — and deservedly so, we are really good at both – in order to compete on the global economic stage, our economy cannot afford to forever rely on the lack of our natural resources. If we do not act now to forge a new vision for what the Australian economy can look like, in the next decade, our luck may just run out.”
Robyn Denholm, Tesla Chair and Technology Council of Australia Chair
Ms. Denholm further asserted that technology jobs have been continuously accelerating in Australia. It grew by 8% to 935,000 job positions as of February 2023 and still constantly grows two times faster than other sectors.
Remarkably, tech-related job growth in the country managed to persist despite recent layoffs from giants like Google and Amazon.
All that said, Ms. Denholm claims that Canva, Atlassian, and Safety Culture’s success demonstrated the country’s major influence on the global tech industry.
Therefore, she suggests that Australia modify its laws to sufficiently aid and build a healthy and fair environment for startup companies.
“We need to have the most startup-friendly regulatory settings to make sure businesses are born and scaled right here. By 2030, tech activity across all industries in Australia will contribute $250 billion every year to our national GDP, and the tech sector will employ over 1.2 million Australians.”
Robyn Denholm, Tesla Chair and Technology Council of Australia Chair
See Also:
- Governments of Australia and Indonesia entered into a “win-win” battery partnership, analyst says
- Tesla Model Y advances to second spot in Australia’s top-selling car in June 2023
- Tesla clears inventory and dominates the Australian market against Toyota as EV enthusiasm grows
- Australia must adopt ambitious EV targets for climate goals, Australian industry group says
- GM taps Australia’s Element 25 for manganese sulphate supply
Australia may really need to diversify its economy and adopt the flourishing tech startup ecosystem. Relying solely on natural resources would certainly not guarantee long-term competitiveness for the country.
By doing so, Australia can potentially advance as a global tech leader, boosting the national GDP and generating job opportunities for Australians.
