AS the debate over our economic and energy future continues, Newcastle and the broader Hunter Region are almost always identified with coal.
That linkage - as real and as valuable as it has been - was never the whole story.
Nor was it during the 84 years of BHP steelmaking, when Newcastle carried the reputational burden of being a dirty Steel City.
At the same time, however, that legacy of heavy industry has also shaped the way we see ourselves - a history we are going to have to leave behind, or at least use as a springboard, if we are going to take full advantage of the technical revolution that is sweeping the world.
The importance of high technology is reflected in two articles in today's Newcastle Herald.
One concerns the birth of a new outlet, at Muswellbrook, of The Melt, an industrial prototyping lab for startups and corporates launched at Warners Bay in 2019 by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The other is the announcement of a federally funded online training program for Hunter businesses wanting to move into the defence industry, either working with defence agencies or with other companies in the sector.
Expounding their philosophies in 2016, back Melt founder Trent Bagnall and fellow innovator Craig Lambert told reporter Penelope Green that: "Newcastle's investment groups, corporates, and business leaders need to rapidly get to grips with disruptive business models and greater access to technology is driving rapid change.
"We still believe that a significant global technology business can come from Newcastle."
Now, the disruption of COVID-19 - along with the global debate over China - has refocused attention on home-grown technologies, and caused a reappraisal of global supply chain philosophies.
In promoting the Defence Ready seminar series, former RAAF commander and Liberal state MP Tim Owen stresses the importance of domestic support for our defence forces, and the opportunities available for the businesses of this region.
In defence and more broadly, the jobs these businesses create will require workers skilled in the STEM subjects now being taught regardless of gender.
Technology is progressing at lightning speed.
We have the brains here to take part in the revolution.
What we need is the self-belief.
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