Will Arthur Sinodinos be able to save the "innovation agenda"?
That's the question from entrepreneurs and innovation experts who are concerned it's falling off the national radar.
Senator Sinodinos was appointed to the Innovation, Industry and Science portfolio in Wednesday's ministerial reshuffle making him the third MP to take the role in the Turnbull government.
"We are told that this is an extremely important portfolio but how can that possibly be when no one is staying in the job for longer than few months?" venture capitalist and innovation consultant Sandy Plunkett said.
"We would have liked to see what [Greg] Hunt would have achieved. He was able to refocus innovation away from just start-ups but he didn't have a chance in the job to play that out. However, Sinodinos' experience might just understand that competition policy, labour relations and reform are all key components of making the national innovation and science agenda (NISA) work for our country for the 21st century," she said.
Alex McCauley, chief executive of StartupAus, a not-for-profit aimed at building the start-up ecosystem, also urged the government to stay focused.
"This is a critical time for innovation and start-ups, and we need to make sure we don't lose momentum as a result of political change," he said.
Meanwhile, other entrepreneurs have slammed Mr Turnbull for turning his back on the so-called "innovation agenda".
"I don't think three ministers in under a year is what the Prime Minister meant when he said it was OK to fail," said Michael Jankie, chief executive of Wi-Fi PoweredLocal.
"What we need is a champion, someone who has been on the battlefront and won, someone whose end goal is for long-term success in the innovation portfolio."
Senator Sinodinos, a former chief of staff to John Howard, aligned himself with the innovation agenda during his time as cabinet secretary, and last year he opened the Frankston Foundry, a hub of innovation in the Melbourne outer suburb of Frankston.
A press release on Wednesday said Senator Sinodinos was "optimistic about the future of high-value manufacturing in Australia" and has a "keen appreciation of the important of innovation and science policies, including the role of national institutions such as the CSIRO".
There was no reference to the emerging start-up sector.
"Politicians must sell the importance of innovation to the average Australian," said Darcy Allen, research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.
"The core benefit of becoming an innovative nation is not the profit from starting a new business, but how in the long term new technologies make all of us more prosperous," he said.
The national innovation and science agenda, announced in December, included measures to reduce the problems caused by insolvency and tax incentives for angel investing in new companies with high growth potential.
As he takes up this new role, Senator Sinodinos is waiting for a corruption inquiry result about the Eddie Obeid-linked water infrastructure company, Australia Water Holdings at which Senator Sinodinos was paid $200,000 to be a deputy chairman, then chairman for three years up until he became a federal senator in 2011.
