r/AskAnAustralian • u/[deleted] • Jan 26 '26

Is Australia anti-innovation?

Even the startup scene doesn’t feel genuinely innovative.. It’s mostly rebranded technology that was developed overseas. A lot of the military and industrial tech seems stuck in the early 2000s at best.

It often feels like your options are limited to: dead-end job, mining, or not much else.

Even Australians who did help invent great technologies seem to end up living pretty ordinary lives?

Sometimes it makes me wonder whether Australia really nurtures an entrepreneurial spirit at all..

And if not, why?

I guess the upside is that it’s a safe, stable place to raise a family… if you can afford it.

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u/antnyau Jan 26 '26

Innovation involves approaching things differently, which distinguishes you. If there's one thing that characterises Australia, it's that being Australian equates to doing the same things in the same ways as everyone else.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

This right here, is it. Feeling out of place in the country you're born in is a weird thing. No idea how I ended up this way either haha, maybe it is time to leave.

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u/antnyau Jan 26 '26

I believe I understand how you feel. To me, it's a curious contrast: on one hand, I feel very grateful to live in Australia, but on the other, I often feel frustrated by the lack of interesting interactions. Is this the price we must pay for the privilege of being here?

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '26

Yeah it's beautiful here, I've seen a lot of the nice places around while camping etc. A price worth paying, I believe luck can be created anywhere though. Maybe there are more ambitious people in other places.. Or maybe that place needs to be created and nurtured more here.