Entries by Rob

Australia and Global Innovation – better than ever

It appears every year and is probably the most comprehensive report on the world’s innovation systems. The Global Innovation Report 2018ranks Australia as number 20 in the world – up three places since 2017.  Reading through the report is fascinating – it finds Australia’s strength lies mainly in its human capital and research capabilities, in particular […]

New .AU Top-Level Domain Name

Top level domain name xxx.au is likely to be available soon. The .AU Australian Domain Administration Ltd is completing a policy review which has suggested one of the most significant changes in the registration system. Currently, Australia does not enable a domain name registration with simply the company name extension. Businesses register using the so-called “second […]

Australian Biotechnology Industry

The European Cluster Collaboration Platform has reported recently on the the Australian biotechnology industry, which is considered to be one of the most important biotech sectors in the world. In terms of the number of companies, the industry is ranked first in the Asian-Pacific area and it is sixth rank of the global market, which […]

WebSummit 2017

German Australian Business Council Member Robert Harrison joined a number of other Australians at the WebSummit held recently in Lisbon, Portugal. It was a good opportunity to learn about trends and discuss Australian startups. The event itself attracted over 60,000 people ranging from startup entrepreneurs, politicians, journalists and musicians and is sometimes described as “Davos […]

Australian Indigenous Art Exhibition runs in Berlin until April 2018

Evangelos Kotsopoulos attended Thursday´s formal opening of a hugely impressive art exhibition of indigenous Australian art at the me Collector´s Room (a large private gallery in Berlin-Mitte. The exhibition runs through to early April 2018 and is on loan from the National Gallery of Australia. It is the largest collection of this kind which the National Gallery […]

G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Baden Baden

It’s been overshadowed by the meeting between President Trump and Chancellor Merkel, but this past couple of days has seen the meeting in the German city of Baden Baden of the G20 group of finance ministers, including Australia’s Treasurer, Scott Morrison. He’s been pressuring for a reference to trade to be included in the final […]

Kaufland to enter Australia

The German Schwarz Group, owner of the Lidl chain, is looking to expand its Kaufland grocery brand down under. The company has set up a website and is looking for land and staff in Australia. Kaufland is apparently looking for big lots of land of up to 20,000 square metres, which will be similar in size as […]

Australian Trade Minister prioritises EU Free Trade Deal

Australian Trade Minister, Hon. Steve Ciobo, apparently told members of the European Parliament on Thursday that the country would prioritise its planned free trade agreement with the European Union over that with the United Kingdom, according to a report on the politics.co.uk website. The minister’s address to the Parliament can be found here. In it […]

EU Australia Leadership Forum Launched

The European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Julie Bishop MP, today launched the EU‑Australia Leadership Forum at the headquarters of the European External Action Service in Brussels. The Leadership Forum will provide a platform for leaders, senior and emerging,  from the […]

Lynette Wood is new Ambassador to Germany

The Australian Foreign Minister announced on 26 August 2016  the appointment of Ms Lynette Wood as Australia’s next Ambassador to Germany. The Minister emphasised that Germany and Australia have a close and productive relationship, sharing common strategic and security objectives. She announced that the two countries will further strengthen our engagement on shared foreign, defence and security […]