UOW Vice-Chancellor has a message for the Productivity Roundtable - and it's not about tax reform

And yes, Prof Max Lu believes Illawarra innovation can drive national productivity - it's happening already, he says

University of Wollongong Vice-Chancellor and President Professor G.Q. Max Lu AO. Picture supplied

As the three-day Productivity Roundtable begins in Canberra, University of Wollongong Vice-Chancellor and President Professor G.Q. Max Lu AO has warned that Australia’s economic debate risks overlooking the most powerful driver of prosperity: innovation.

“While much of the national conversation focuses on industrial relations, tax reform, or migration, a more powerful driver is being overlooked: innovation,” Professor Lu wrote in a recent UOW opinion piece republished on The Policymaker.

He argued technological innovation, not labour or capital inputs, underpins long-term growth. “In the United States, around 85% of long-term productivity growth stems not from more labour or capital, but from technological innovation,” Prof Lu wrote.