Innovation in Action
The Hunter has been innovating for decades — solving hard problems, building products, developing manufacturing capability and creating value well beyond the region. Long before "innovation" became a buzzword. This conversational panel brings together four Hunter business leaders who have built and implemented real innovation across very different industries and stages. It is not about innovation in theory. It is about what actually happened between "We have an idea" and "This actually works" — what they saw that others didn't, what it took to get it adopted, what changed because it existed, and the hard lessons someone in the room can use tomorrow. A practical look at real capability already sitting in the Hunter, and how we build what comes next by learning from, connecting and building on what has already been built.
Building Australia’s Premium Industrial Ecosystem
What will it take for the Hunter to become Australia's premium industrial innovation ecosystem?
In this tightly curated session, four leaders each deliver a short, focused keynote on their vision for the region's next chapter:
Gillian Summers (Brain Industries) on how the Hunter has reinvented itself before — from the end of BHP steelmaking to today — and why resilience comes from solving real problems, buying and building locally where it makes sense, and refusing to wait to be rescued.
Victor Dominello on what intelligent, citizen-centred public services and digital infrastructure (drawing on the ideas in Government 3.0) can unlock for regional economies in the age of AI.
From Best-Kept Secret To Global Mission
Great technology does not commercialise itself. It needs strategy, visibility, credibility and structure to scale.
In this session, Jacqui Daley and Tony Landers share the SiNAB journey — taking a complex Australian defence innovation (originally developed for Joint Terminal Attack Controller training) from early concept through the Defence Innovation Hub, brand and market evolution, and into a broader global mission systems capability. Expect a candid look at the realities of selling into the Australian defence market, the decision to pursue international opportunities, the rapid expansion of Phoenix into Phoenix Mission Systems (including growing Counter-UAS interest), key partnerships such as OMNIPOL, and the first commercial sales.
Tied to the official launch of BRAG, this is an honest, commercially grounded story about what it takes to turn strong Hunter-developed capability into a credible, visible and increasingly global business.
New Steel Age Forged in Newcastle
Steelmaking is returning to Newcastle — and with it, a new chapter for Australian industry.
In this keynote, Professor Ross Garnaut shares why Greensteel Australia's all-electric mill on the historic Mayfield site represents more than a single project. It is a practical demonstration of how the Hunter can lead a new steel age: combining renewable energy, advanced manufacturing capability, and sovereign industrial investment.
Expect a clear-eyed view of the economic and industrial opportunity, the role of the region in Australia's energy transition, and what it will take to turn ambition into durable, high-value industry.