The NSW Government has announced an innovation policy, NSW Government Statement on Innovation [PDF]. In its cover imagery there's a large sharpened pencil in the foreground with students rushing in the background.

A goal of the Government is to improve human capital. Because the students are moving left to right, maybe the symbolism is that they are rushing to get to school, not racing to get out. 

The Government has also announced the membership of its current NSW Innovation Council. The tradition in Australian government is for such councils to meet regularly, review new developments, make submissions to Government and respond to requests for feedback. 

Before launching into a polemic, here's the Government's overview of the policy. 

The NSW Government has five innovation goals:

• Improve human capital
• Upgrade knowledge and information infrastructure
• Reduce the cost to business os using science and technology
• Encourage capital allocation to encourage investment
• Reduce regulatory barriers to innovative NSW companies

• Improve human capital
• Upgrade knowledge and information infrastructure
• Reduce the cost to business os using science and technology
• Encourage capital allocation to encourage investment
• Reduce regulatory barriers to innovative NSW companies

The NSW Innovation Council members are:

• Steven Harker (Chair) – Managing Director and CEO Morgan Stanley Australia
• Catherine Livingstone – business director and former chair of the CSIRO, former head of Cochlear Pty Ltd
• Professor Jonathan West – Director, Australian Innovation Research Centre, on whose work the Innovation Statement is based
• Dr David Skellern – Chief Executive Officer, National ICT Australia
• Greg Smith – Director, Animal Logic
• Mark ONeill – former Executive Director, Australian Coal Association
• Robyn Kruk – Director-General, Department of Premier and Cabinet
• John Pierce – Secretary, NSW Treasury
• Michael Coutts-Trotter – Director-General, Department of Education and Training and Managing Director, TAFE NSW

Whether progress on innovation in NSW is around the corner is a function, in Lightbulb's experience, of:

• Whether the Government really has any interest in the subject
• The quality of the bureaucrats supporting the Council
• The quality of the leadership of the Council
• The culture of contribution developed among members of the Council
• The preparedness of industry bodies and participants to contribute to make the pie bigger

The Labor Government of New South Wales is not alone, as noted in Lightbulb's pre-election whinge titled, Australia's national innovation policy, ho hum.

Governments alone are also not to blame. It can be gobsmacking to witness unenlightened self-interest at work in industry and industry associations in Australia. Anyway "innovation" is a loose concept - see Innovation defined and redefined.

Maybe Australia is not unique, not sure. But here's what we're dealing with. Following is Lightbulb's massive generalisation on the challenge for national industry boards in Australia aiming to pull together as one team. 

• Tasmanians have their hand out;
• those in Queensland and Western Australia think everyone else is a bum;
• people in South Australia think everyone is less seemly than them;
• Victorians club very well and want you to club with them (for their cause);
• those in Canberra and the Northern Territory will come clubbing too as long as you do the work; and
• businesses in NSW (especially Sydney) play as if they are on the team but in fact they fight tooth and nail to preserve their self-interest

Recognising whatever truth there is in these bullet points adds realism to move to more constructive values for mutually beneficial collaboration in NSW and with other regions of Australia.

These reflections on Australian experience in government boards, industry development and industry association politics recalls the reflections of James Strong. He was retiring after a short stint as a senior executive of a law firm. Before and after Strong was most associated with Qantas. About his stint in law firm  management he said words to the effect that: "It was like herding cats". We presume he meant it was "impossibly difficult". And for this reason, our best wishes to the NSW Innovation Council to cut the mustard and improve innovation in NSW.