Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Education Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021, obviously in strong support of the substantive bill because of the very important role it will play in assisting Australia's research community. The bill increases the Australian Research Council's funding caps in line with inflation, which will provide much-needed certainty and support to thousands of research projects. After the year we had last year, with COVID-19, certainty is what is most needed at this time. The bill makes important funding adjustments to the ARC Act in order to facilitate the ongoing operation of the ARC, updates the special appropriation funding cap administered by the ARC to include policy approvals and indexation adjustments, and extends the forward estimates through June 2024 for existing schemes within the Commonwealth National Competitive Grants Program to allow continued funding of quality research in Australia—and what incredible and quality research we do here in Australia.

I want to take the opportunity to speak about some of this research we are doing, and why it is important, and to give some examples, particularly in our home electorate of Ryan. We are very, very lucky in the electorate of Ryan to have within our boundaries the University of Queensland, one of the most eminent research institutions in the whole of Australia. I speak with absolute confidence, with not a hint of bias, when I say that UQ is absolutely top notch when it comes to research, if not producing research of the highest quality in this country. It certainly has some of the sharpest minds in our country, and I've had the pleasure of meeting many of them at the university to find out about the work they're doing and, in particular, to hear about the incredible passion they have for their work.

I have to say, to apply for funding through the ARC is no small feat for these researchers. It takes an incredible amount of work. It takes in some cases many years of preparation and preparatory research in order to facilitate these long-term funding agreements. They have a passion for what they do, and they have fleshed out their research in a way that allows them to cover ground that nobody has covered before and to really drill down into some important research propositions for our nation. It's because of the ARC funding that these very, very passionate people are doing some vital research that is changing and indeed bettering the way we do things right across the nation, whether that be for families or for farmers. The innovation work being driven by UQ is outstanding.

I want to go through a few of these projects, because certainly UQ punch above their weight in terms of getting access to these grants and establishing these centres of excellence around their specific streams of research. I had the pleasure of announcing a project being undertaken through the Morrison government's funding, and speaking with the researchers involved, which was establishing the Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, which is being led by Professor Janeen Baxter and is based at UQ. Importantly, the research is looking at new ways to tackle disadvantage and to better Australian families. This was actually all established prior to COVID-19 and its associated health and economic impacts on Australian families as a result of lockdowns, often snap lockdowns, which have kept children away from schooling for long periods and have kept children in family situations that are disadvantaged. The centre was established before all that, and it's never been more vital than it is now. The centre is using new methods and enhanced data to enable it to present a deep understanding that shapes and informs programs targeted at supporting families.

So, as we institute new programs that support families—and as a government we put a lot of money into this space—it's going to be informed by the very best research that is not only coming out of an ARC centre of excellence but coming out of our very own University of Queensland. It's working towards the Morrison government's commitment to break down those barriers Australians may face in gaining greater independence and choices and a better future for themselves and their families, because at the end of the day that's what we're here to ensure. I often speak in this place about the fact that supporting Australian families is absolutely a front and centre priority for me, as I'm sure it is for many in this place, and I'm incredibly proud to have this investment and work being done within the electorate of Ryan at the University of Queensland.

Another ARC centre of excellence at the University of Queensland is embarking on research that will boost Australia's agricultural industry. This is a space I don't have as much familiarity with, but, in speaking to these researchers, it is quite clear that not only are they passionate about what they do, but that they are at the absolute forefront of this—and not just in Australia, but right around the world. The Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is led by Christine Beveridge at the University of Queensland. Again, as a government, we are continually speaking of the importance of new technologies and innovating the way that we do things. We are continually talking about international competition and how we want to fund farmers to be at the very forefront of international agricultural practices.

We know that, post-COVID, the jobs of the future are going to be different. There are going to be different problems that we face, that we have to overcome, including in the agricultural sector, and this research is going to benefit our farmers in helping them to overcome these challenges and to further demonstrate the incredible resilience that Australian farmers already have in spades. Professor Beveridge and her team are identifying nature success stories within plants and translating these opportunities into a way to enhance yield and resilience within our crops. It's this kind of world-leading research—absolutely world-leading—using cutting-edge technology, that will help agriculture, which is a $100 billion industry, and create thousands of jobs for Australians.

They're just two examples. So when I say    there truly are some of the sharpest minds in Australia in Ryan, at the University of Queensland, doing that sort of work thanks to these grant and this funding, I know this bill ensures there is certainty for them, and this is no understatement. I have no doubt that the team of researchers at the University of Queensland will be a driving force in ensuring that Australia's research capacity and innovation capacity continues to be recognised on the world stage.

You don't want to talk too much about the positives that come out of COVID, because it has been a time of terrible stress for so many, but where there are a few positives to be seen then I think it's worth calling them out. One of the positives to come out of COVID-19 and the exceptional way that the Australian government and the Australian people have handled COVID is that we have, in fact, seen some of our best and brightest minds in research coming back to Australia or securing their future in Australia. When it comes to these incredibly talented researchers who are incredibly well-educated, there is obviously worldwide competition for their services. There's no end of governments who are willing to throw a lot of money at them to secure their services. But what we have seen is the fact that, beyond just the financial incentives, Australian researchers are seeing the value in the environment that we are creating here in Australia and the security that it's providing for their families. They're certainly coming back for the health security and also the economic security. They are coming back here to either re-establish their research fields and undertake their research fields in Australia, having previously been in international institutions, or they are looking at how they secure their research focus in the years ahead in Australia rather than looking to overseas for the next research opportunity. I think that's really, really encouraging for Australia. It gives us an incredible opportunity to leverage off their success, to leverage off their knowledge and to leverage off the incredible innovations that they are going to achieve.

With a bit of indulgence, while I am on the topic of research at the University of Queensland, I can't go past it without thanking those 100-plus researchers at the University of Queensland who were involved in the COVID-19 vaccine project thanks to this funding. I know they were bitterly disappointed that they didn't quite get there. They spent many, many hours—a lot of time away from their families—bunkering down so that they could go as fast as possible and try to make the COVID vaccine an Australian innovation. Despite their disappointment, we are not disappointed at them. We are certainly not disappointed at their efforts—in fact, we marvel at their efforts and we thank them very much for putting in the work that they have. I know, from speaking with them, that their efforts have not been in vain and that, in fact, an enormous amount of the work that they've put into the COVID vaccine will be reused and will put us at the forefront of vaccine innovation going forward—not only in Australia and not only at the University of Queensland but in the electorate of Ryan—and that is an incredibly powerful thing. That vaccine team have forged connections across the world, with counterparts in all four corners of the globe—connections that they simply didn't have before. They've forged those partnerships because of the way that COVID brought the international medical research community together, and they'll be able to leverage those partnerships for decades to come.

I want to take this opportunity, while I am on my feet in this House, to thank every one of those 100 people involved in those projects—not just the ones in the lab coats but all the support staff who made it happen, all the ones who applied for funding, all the ones who provided administrative support. To every single person who was involved in facilitating those long hours that those researchers were able to do to put Australia at the forefront of vaccine development going forward, we are so very proud of your efforts and we thank you very much.

I'm obviously in strong support of this substantive bill. It's going to help secure research funding going forward. It demonstrates, yet again, how the Morrison government is delivering for universities and, in particular, world-leading researchers. We know your value. We know the value of the innovations and talents that you're bringing to your selected fields. I hope that this bill's securing of funding going forward is a demonstration of how much we value your efforts. Please continue to do the great work you're doing on behalf of all Australians.

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