A Wodonga man taking on Google for anti-competitive behaviour says the federal government is seriously underestimating the tech sector as an economic powerhouse and future jobs creator.
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Matt Berriman believes both sides of the political divide are showing lacklustre support for an industry gearing up to be a major economic contributor and warns tech firms will move overseas in search of better opportunities.
"The [federal] government is not giving it enough attention," Mr Berriman said.
"We've had five ministers for innovation and technology in the last six years. So there's not a stable focus on it from the federal government."
His remarks coincide with a civil complaint against Google in the US by his company Unlockd, which is suing the Silicon Valley giant after it decided to ban the company's mobile advertising technology from its services.
It just feels like Scott Morrison isn't really reading the room, again," he said. There definitely needs to be a shift in the quality of minister or ministerial leadership and the team that's around them, otherwise the tech sector and people will go offshore.
The former professional cricketer who pivoted to tech in 2006, said Christian Porter's appointment to the innovation portfolio following his ousting as Attorney-General after a rape allegation surfaced earlier in the year, was a clear indicator the Morrison government did not treat the sector as a leading future industry.
Mr Berriman noted Mr Morrison's decision following allegations made against Mr Porter from the ABC, sent the wrong signal and went against trying to support female empowerment and entrepreneurship within tech.
"It just feels like Scott Morrison isn't really reading the room, again," he said.
"There definitely needs to be a shift in the quality of minister or ministerial leadership and the team that's around them, otherwise the tech sector and people will go offshore.
"Atlasssian went and listed overseas and other companies are going overseas and taking a lot of value with them because they don't have the confidence in the Australian market."
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Currently based in Melbourne, Mr Berriman believes the sector will be crucial in job creation in regional Australia, claiming tech companies have already embraced remote working and searching for talent beyond city limits.
However, flagged potential jobs growth in the regions would only be viable if it is underpinned by a government support strategy. Mr Berriman said Australian tech companies will move overseas if there is no investment appetite domestically.
"If they don't have confidence in the Australian government's handling of regulation, tax incentives and where they're going to focus spend in the budget, then a lot of us are going to go offshore and that's disappointing," he said.
"[Tech] will be a significant growth of GDP in this country well into the future. If you look at the rich list in Australia, there's a lot of it coming from tech ... the iron ore gravy train can't last forever."
Unlockd entered voluntary administration in 2018 after Google banned its mobile advertising apps from all its services, prompting investor cash to dry up and thwarting a public listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
At its height, the company was backed by Lachlan Murdoch, former Seven Group chief Peter Gammell and former Telstra boss Sol Trujillo.
In the 69-page complaint lodged in the district court of California, Unlockd claims Google blocked it from the Google Play and Ad Mob platforms which "doomed" the company. It alleges it was barred because Google was looking to bring on its own app similar to the reward for watching advertising technology developed by Unlockd.
"Google is no longer the idealistic start-up it once claimed to be," it reads. "Google has a dangerous probability of achieving monopoly power in the digital advertising market, as defined herein, and excluded Unlockd from that market with the specific intent to destroy competition."
Unlockd entered the market with a mobile advertising technology, which when signed up to by a customer, rewarded them for watching ads when unlocking their Android smartphone. The technology was marketed as a mechanism to pay off bills by engaging with short advertisements.
Before its bankruptcy, the company was valued at around $200 million.
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