Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to indicate the coalition’s support for the Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2010. The Australian Research Council Act 2001 stipulates that the act should be amended each year to incorporate the amount appropriated for the Australian Research Council and bring up to date the details of the fund administered by the ARC. The bill reflects a practice adopted in 2001 and applied annually ever since. It also provides for funding adjustments of approximately $889.6 million to allow the ARC to implement its budget initiatives and provides additional out-year funding.

In addition to providing indexation of existing appropriation accounts, the bill provides funding for three initiatives. Firstly, the research in bionic vision science and technology initiative will provide funding for research leading to the development of a functional bionic eye. The research funded through this initiative is expected to lead to significant innovation through collaboration. It is something that I particularly look forward to. The bionic eye has the potential to give sight and restore sight to many Australians from one end of our shores to the other and, indeed, to others overseas. The bionic eye project follows on from previous successful innovations in this area, such as the bionic ear, which provides hearing for those who are profoundly deaf or hard of hearing. That particular innovation has transformed the lives of many Australians. There are also expected to be other health outcomes resulting in significant spin-off and successful commercialisation.

Secondly, the Super Science Fellowships Scheme will seek to retain researchers in three key areas: space and astronomy; marine and climate; and future industries. The fellowships will provide funding of $72½ thousand a year plus 28 per cent on costs. One hundred researchers will benefit from these fellowships, and eligible organisations will administer these fellowships and provide $20,000 per participant to support the research projects they undertaken. The organisations hosting the fellowships, which commence this year, include Australian universities and research institutes, Australian government agencies and research functions like the CSIRO, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, ANSTO, and the Anglo-Australian Observatory in the Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio.

All members of the House should be well aware of the challenge we face in science education in Australia. We have seen recent reports over the last few weeks and have heard in broader discussion on the national curriculum of the need to encourage more students, particularly in senior years, to study science. We have seen the need to encourage and train more teachers in the science and maths field. This is a serious, long-term issue that needs to be worked on. We need to ensure that students’ interest in science is encouraged and harnessed at an early age so that they can go on to participate in these sorts of programs. A number in the science profession have high hopes of the draft national curriculum for science, but were—just like myself—bitterly disappointed that, when the draft curriculum was released, there was no workable implementation plan to go with it and no practical assistance given to implement some of the measures. Even in a field as important as science, education and innovation, the Rudd government is unfortunately all talk and no action.

Thirdly, there is continued funding for National Information and Communication Technology Australia. NICTA was established by the former coalition government in 2002 to ensure that Australia was able to fully harness the benefits this sector has to offer. As the shadow minister has said, the ICT sector has a critical role to play in continued innovation and development across all industries in Australia. Through two research nodes in Sydney and Canberra, NICTA is now a world-class organisation in its field which attracts internationally recognised reseachers, and it obviously benefits our domestic researchers to be able to work alongside internationally recognised researchers. It allows some of our younger, up-and-coming researchers to have access to some of the best brains and some of the highly recognised people in this field. The ICT sector is a fast-shifting field, and we need to be able to continually invest and allow the domestic flourishing of this sector; otherwise, we will be left behind.

In conclusion, the coalition does support Australian innovation and research. It is fundamental to our productivity. It is fundamental to the growth of our economy. We look forward to seeing the results and future work of great Australian scientists.

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