Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Got it. His secret is to show his students that science is a part of life and not just something to be done at school. The Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools has been awarded to Mr Len Altman, from Marden Senior College in Adelaide. Mr Altman, as I said before, is leading a renaissance in geoscience teaching in South Australia. These are great achievements.

A few weeks ago there was another significant development for Australian science: Australian born and educated biologist Professor Elizabeth Blackburn was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. What a great achievement for Australian science. What a great achievement for an Australian woman scientist. This is a fantastic achievement for the country. She is Australia’s first female Nobel laureate—period. Professor Blackburn stands in great Australian company alongside the likes of Sir Howard Florey and Professor Peter Doherty. The prize was awarded for her work on chromosomes. I called Professor Blackburn personally to congratulate her on her outstanding achievement. I am sure that everyone in this House will join me in acknowledging Professor Elizabeth Blackburn for receiving the Nobel Prize for Medicine. It is an achievement of which Australians can be proud.

This government is proud of Australia’s science community. We are proud of our science teachers in primary schools, in secondary schools; we are proud of our science lecturers through the universities; we are proud of what those in the laboratories are doing now. This country punches above its weight when it comes to the scientific community, writ across all the disciplines. This is why the education minister and the industry minister are so actively supporting research, innovation and science at the schools level, at the university level and at the research institute level across the country. This is good for the country’s future. If we are going to build long-term productivity growth, part of that productivity growth lies in building a culture of innovation and of invention, of which science must be the core. I commend the winners of these awards.

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