The Women In Leadership program supports women in the Greater Whitsunday region who have the potential and drive to be workplace and/or community leaders. This program has been designed to help women grow and develop their leadership skills and opportunities especially if they’re interested in a leadership role, being on a committee or board, or wanting to step up in the organisation.

The Women in Leadership program combines face-to-face learning, personalised mentoring and industry networking to facilitate the following opportunities:
• Identify and leverage your individual strengths.
• Build self-awareness and confidence in skills and capabilities.
• Identify leadership skills.
• Develop a network of other local leaders.

The next Women In Leadership Program round will be announced soon.

Robotics, autonomous systems and sensing technologies sit at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution, at the intersection of physical and digital worlds. These technologies underpin self-driving cars, smart cities, autonomous drones, and sensor technology capturing data that will revolutionise and enhance industries.

The fast-growing robotics industry is expected to be worth $23 billion by 2025, with our local robotic industry already generating about $12 billion in revenue a year and employing almost 50,000 people.

Australia and its major industries such as mining and agriculture are primed to be transformed by robotics and autonomous system. The opportunity is in using robots and sensors to capture information about complex environments and to automate tasks that would otherwise be completed by humans in high-risk situations and at a greater cost.

Australia is building a robust, resilient and globally-competitive defence industry. It exports innovative defence technologies to key global partners and supports an agile and capable Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Some of our defence exports
• More than 70 companies share more than A$3 billion in contracts as part of the global Joint Strike Fighter Program investment. (Source: Australian Government 2023)
• Thales Australia Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles, designed and built in Australia, are used by a number of countries including Fiji, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
• The Nulka Active Missile Decoy protects ships from missiles and has been adopted by several nations. Its concept of a hovering rocket decoy was initiated in Australia by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and developed in partnership with the US Department of Defence and BAE systems. It is currently deployed on over 150 Australian, US and Canadian warships.
• Droneshield, an Australian company that makes innovative AI-based counter drone systems, in July 2023 received a record A$33 million order from a US government agency. It followed a $9.9 million order from another customer among the Five Eyes community.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted?

If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it

The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Reform incentives that give more advantages to investors over owner-occupiers.

Reform on “no cause” evictions, where landlords can kick tenants out for no reason and make it within reason.

Make renting more Sustainable! Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

The list goes on and we plan to have some robust conversations within this group that focus on solutions rather than the cause!

In Kindness

Allan 'Big Al' Connolly
Founder - Kommuniti HQ
Managing Director - The Whealth Group
Co-Chair - WA Alliance to End Homelessness,
and Lived Experience of Homelessness Expert
M: +61 411 468 337
W: bigalconnolly.org
E: admin@bigalconnolly.org
LI: linkedin.com/in/bigalconnolly  

Australia has capabilities along most of the space industry supply chain. By far the strongest areas are in applications where Australia has experience in integrating space sourced data into communications, Earth Observations from Space and Global Navigational Satellite Services (GNSS).

Manufacturing
Australia has no capability in the manufacture of large satellites and limited capability in design and specification of launch vehicles. However it does have capability in the specification and design of communications satellites through Optus and an emerging capability in the design and manufacture of nano- and micro-satellites in universities and emerging start-up companies.
Manufacturing of satellite sub-systems is an emerging capability that has good prospects. This includes high performance optics, radio communications systems, optical communications systems and on-board data handling. Many of these activities build on Australia’s capability in the manufacture of ground-based optical systems for astronomy, satellite laser ranging and space debris tracking.

We want to reduce harm caused by fire and floods by harnessing the collective power of communities, industry, government, philanthropy and the research sector to lift Australia to be the global leader in fire and flood resilience by 2025.

We see ourselves as an enabler, facilitating dialogue, orchestrating and convening groups (people, businesses, government, philanthropy and the research sector), and relying on ground truth from active community-focused programs, to identify the most important resilience-related problems and enable the most effective solutions to be delivered faster.

As a not-for-profit, we go where the evidence takes us. Finally, we are an impact investor. We will make investments when and where they are needed to lift fire and flood resilience. We have a strong balance sheet to ensure the program is a success.

Information and Communication Technology is the blanket term for the products that store, retrieve, manipulate, transmit and receive information electronically in a digital form.

ICT includes hardware, software, wired and wireless networks and telecommunications.

Over 3 billion people now have access to the internet. The rapid adoption and use of technology has provided a ubiquitous platform for everyday life.
But the digital revolution has created many digital divides, between the high-speed broadband connected and the unconnected, the digitally savvy and the digitally ignorant, those who can afford all the latest gadgets and those who can’t and so on.

And the computerisation, robotisation and automation of many traditional business tasks is changing the nature of work and jobs, education, health, government, entertainment and recreation radically.

ICT continues to develop and evolve with nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, social media and robots pushing into more areas of our world.

As the world becomes ever more connected, positive opportunities for new connections, trade, sharing and collaboration increase daily.

But so do the threats, and scammers, hackers, organised crime, and even state sponsored cybercriminals are increasingly active with identity theft, blackmail, denial of service attacks and phishing.

So it becomes increasingly important for all technology issues to be discussed openly and honestly and for CEOs, boards and management teams to really understand all sides of the ICT story.

AusAgritech is shaping the future of Agritech in Australia and its contribution to the Australian economy. Agritech is a standalone sector which applies technology to the agri-food supply chain, and contemporaneously crosses over into energy, water, sustainability, environment, climate, industry and emissions reduction.

Our world leading Agritech sector is on the frontline enabling on-farm and supply chain adoption of technology, as well as building a clean, green and sustainable future. It is the cornerstone of transforming the way we farm, how the supply chain operates, drives a world leading export reputation and is a key enabler of sustainability and climate adaptation through the development of commercial and scaled applied technology solutions.

The Agritech industry powers Australia when it strives to reach its national level agricultural productivity, export, sustainability and digitilisation goals.

We exist to bring the Agritech ecosystem to the table to grow a vibrant sector.

Geotourism is a sustainable form of tourism based on the geodiversity of our environment and encourages learning about natural and cultural heritage. Australia’s natural and cultural geo-attractions are unique and complement existing tourism markets.

The rich geodiversity of our environment is an opportunity to support sustainable growth as well as adding value to the overall tourist experience. Despite the fact that we have an abundant geoheritage other countries only dream off, this great potential is currently still largely overlooked.

Geotourism is emerging as a new global phenomenon which fosters tourism based upon landscapes.

Its definition has recently been refined as a form of tourism that specifically focuses on the geology and landscapes which shape the character of a region.

Depending on the building categories, there are major five types of construction buildings in Australia. Buildings can be classified into five different types of construction - fire-resistive, non-combustible, ordinary, heavy timber, and wood-framed.

Modern methods of construction include

• 3D volumetric construction. ...
• Flat slabs. ...
• Timber frames. ...
• Precast panels. ...
• Concrete walls and floors. ...
• Precast foundations. ...
• Twin wall technology. ...
• Thin joint masonry.

Many of Queensland’s operating mines have reached or are approaching the end of their productive life in the coming decades. As the 1200 or so abandoned mine sites attest, successful mine closure or economic post mining outcomes are historically rare. There are many more mines that will close operations in the next decade.

enviroMETS (Qld) Limited has been established to find innovative ESG solutions and sustainable ways to make mining impacted land valuable to its future custodians. This Mission recognises the diverse range of challenges that can be overcome by adopting a collaborative approach to technical innovation, fresh thinking about repurposed land use and new land remediation methods.

As an independent industry led, not-for-profit company, it facilitates research activities, shares knowledge, identifies solutions to problems, coordinates projects and provides an innovation eco-system for its participants.

We are initially seeking a number of regional Queensland abandoned or impending closure mine sites to establish commercially sound demonstration Projects, where our research, innovative SME suppliers, government agencies and industry corporates can collaborate to recommercialise or repurpose and remediate.

Such sites will bring together more than one of our Expertise Streams to create a sustainable environmentally and socially sound solution that benefits a wide stakeholder group. Engaging industry, government, researchers and local communities.

The University of Technology Sydney is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1870s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021, UTS enrols 45,221 students through its 9 faculties and schools.

GPT-3 (Generative Pretrained Transformer 3) is a state-of-the-art language processing AI model developed by OpenAI. It is capable of generating human-like text and has a wide range of applications, including language translation, language modelling, and generating text for applications such as chatbots. It is one of the largest and most powerful language processing AI models to date, with 175 billion parameters.

Its most common use so far is creating ChatGPT - a highly capable chatbot. To give you a little taste of its most basic ability, we asked GPT-3's chatbot to write its own description as you can see above. It’s a little bit boastful, but completely accurate and arguably very well written.
In less corporate terms, GPT-3 gives a user the ability to give a trained AI a wide range of worded prompts. These can be questions, requests for a piece of writing on a topic of your choosing or a huge number of other worded requests.

With its 175 billion parameters, its hard to narrow down what GPT-3 does. The model is, as you would imagine, restricted to language. It can’t produce video, sound or images like its brother Dall-E 2, but instead has an in-depth understanding of the spoken and written word.

This event will be held consecutively over three venues in two countries. It begins with a Volcanic Youth Camp at Ijen UNESCO Global Geopark in East Java (1-2 July), followed by the main event at Rinjani-Lombok UNESCO Global Geopark Lombok (4-6 July), and concluding with a one-day workshop at The University of Sydney, Australia (18 July). The workshop will be accompanied by field trips, principally to be organised on 19 July. The workshop, to be addressed by invited speakers from both Indonesia and Australia, will focus on topics relevant to volcanic geotourism destinations.

Tasmania has a strong agricultural tradition and the sector is highly diversified. Activities fall into six main areas:
• mixed farming enterprises, incorporating broadacre cropping, wool and livestock production
• dairy
• fruit (including stone, pome fruit and berries) and vegetable production
• viticulture and hops
• pigs and poultry
• niche production such as seeds, honey, ginseng, olives, nuts, truffles, herbs, cut flowers, bulbs and essential oils
•
mixed farming enterprises, incorporating broadacre cropping, wool and livestock production
• dairy
• fruit (including stone, pome fruit and berries) and vegetable production
• viticulture and hops
• pigs and poultry
• niche production such as seeds, honey, ginseng, olives, nuts, truffles, herbs, cut flowers, bulbs and essential oils
Tasmania enjoys excellent growing conditions, affordable land, relative freedom from pests and diseases, abundant water resources and strong research and development capability. Tasmania also has a strong fishing and aquaculture industry, particularly in the area of salmonid aquaculture.
Tasmania’s food processing sector includes dairy products, meat, seafood (Atlantic salmon and ocean trout predominantly, but also abalone, mussels, oysters and scallops), potatoes and other vegetables, confectionery, beer and wine. There are many small producers of boutique beverages, preserves, olives and olive oils, small goods and baked goods. In particular, boutique cider and whisky from Tasmania is gaining attention in national and international markets.

Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) will change future battlespaces and the way Army trains and fights.

Army’s 2022 RAS Strategy outlines how we will explore ways we team up with machines and systems through three themes; intelligent machine, machine to machine teaming, and human to machine teaming.

The benefits of RAS technology include maximising soldier performance, improving decision making, generating mass and scalable effects, protecting the force and operational efficiencies.

In collaboration with industry, academia, allies and partners, Army will explore emerging RAS opportunities through a ‘learn by doing’ approach that leverages the knowledge, skills and potential of our people.

The Hydrogen Industry Cluster will drive crucial collaboration across the emerging hydrogen value chain, building the scale and capabilities of existing industry start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs and further leveraging and developing their technologies that will sustain a clean, innovative, competitive and safe hydrogen industry.
The Cluster will also connect cluster members with leading Australian research organisations, supporting the commercialisation of their IP in Australia, creating high value jobs, securing investment and ultimately supporting hydrogen exports driven by a world-leading hydrogen supply chain of technology solutions and services.
The announcement of the Hydrogen Industry Cluster and NERA’s role forms a key part of the National Hydrogen Strategy released by the Council for Australian Governments (COAG).
The National Hydrogen Strategy has been developed by Australian Governments to create the necessary social and regulatory framework that allows the hydrogen industry to expand, and sets out the foundations needed for Australian businesses to develop a vibrant hydrogen industry that benefits all Australians, while meeting safety and community standards. The aim of the strategy is to:
• build a clean, innovative and competitive hydrogen industry;
• position Australia’s hydrogen industry as a major global player by 2030; and
• coordinate the approach to projects that support hydrogen industry development.

Williamtown RAAF base sits at the heart of the region’s defence sector and is supported by a hub of important defence and aerospace companies. It is co-located with the Newcastle Airport, currently servicing 1.2 million passengers annually.

Drought hubs empower stakeholders to co-design drought preparedness activities and apply innovation to ensure a thriving future for the region. Hub members, partners and stakeholders apply proven drought-resilience research on the ground to make this happen.

The hub will improve innovation and its adoption across agriculture, industry, and the community.

The 8 hubs support farmers and communities to get ready for drought. They connect farmers with regional agricultural experts, innovation and new practices.

A Knowledge Broker is available at each hub. Their role is to translate science into practice for their region. They use their network to encourage collaboration and learning across the hubs. They also help build connections with other Future Drought Fund programs.