Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia is a smart nation. From polymer bank notes to our role in creating wi-fi, we are a nation of innovators. In my electorate of Swan we have some incredible innovators. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is on Monday, and in an earlier speech in this place I highlighted some impressive female innovators in Swan, including Dr Shani Higginbottom at Alcoa, who is maximising bauxite recovery. There's Dr Irene Suarez-Martinez and her work as a material scientist but also as a textile artist. We have Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker and her work in the Murchison Widefield Array; Dr Gemma Anderson, who monitors black holes and supernovas; and Dr Lucy Commander, who is known for her outstanding work in seed germination.

There are more impressive women in Swan. There's Lyndsey Teng, a civil engineer who has worked on various rail projects across Western Australia, and Hannah Green, from ChemCentre, who won the Ian Ritchie Achievement Award. Her team works with the WA Police Force to identify chemicals seized in drug labs.

Innovation is in the DNA of Australians, and this is something that we see at the forefront of universities. For me, as one of the few members lucky enough to have a university in their electorate, it's a pleasure to have Curtin University. Curtin has been making strides in commercialising research. For example, Curtin has a cathode-manufacturing pilot plant. This is an example of taking an ingenious home-grown idea, on battery manufacturing, and then turning it into a pilot plant to test the commercialisation. This could become the foundation of a future battery-manufacturing capability in Australia.

We can do innovation here, but there's an issue with commercialisation of research and development. Many people have heard about the valley of death. It's the place between the laboratory bench and the marketplace where countless good ideas go to die. Australia can be at the forefront of innovation and commercialisation, and the Albanese Labor government wants this nation to be a country that both innovates in research and development and also ensures that we commercialise these ideas to keep them here in Australia.

This bill, the Higher Education Support Amendment (Australia's Economic Accelerator) Bill 2022, fits into the government's University Research Commercialisation Action Plan. The bill will allow the minister to make grants to support arrangements to increase industry-led postgraduate research and assist higher education providers to undertake programs of research that will progress the development of technologies and services to a state of commercial investor readiness and that are in sectors aligned with the nation's priorities. This bill provides researchers with the support and funding to bridge the gap between the laboratory bench and the marketplace. Curtin University will benefit from this additional funding support for researchers.

This bill complements the first major policy package to support manufacturing in Australia. This is the biggest one in living memory: the National Reconstruction Fund. Although this bill's measures are smaller in scope and impact than the Albanese Labor government's National Reconstruction Fund plan, it aligns with our priorities to see industry supported by government in cooperation with researchers, universities and workers.

It was disappointing to hear that the opposition is choosing to not support the National Reconstruction Fund, because the parents I speak to in my electorate of Swan would like to see their children obtain future jobs that are well paid and secure. A friend told me a story about his aunty, who was born fully deaf and worked for nearly a decade upholstering car seats in Melbourne at one of the car manufacturers. It was a good, well-paid blue-collar job that gave her a sense of dignity in her work and a sense of belonging. Supporting Australian manufacturing industry is as much about the dollars and cents as it is about creating opportunities for people and developing a sense of dignity in the work that they do.

I support this bill because I see the bigger picture. By supporting researchers and turning their work into something commercially viable we are increasing the sustainability of the research sector. A healthy and sustainable research sector means more jobs for all people, including women in STEM, which is a priority for this government. This support will also mean greater innovation in industry and more things can be invented in Australia and made here. And, if we're making it in Australia, it will mean good, secure, well-playing jobs for our communities.

Curtin University will be instrumental to this process, and to quote Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne:

… Curtin University has a leading role to play in helping Australia become a smarter and more innovative country, that leads the world not just in research but in making the most of the commercial opportunities that come from that research.

And, as the saying goes, if there's a will there's a way. In my community there is a willingness among the leadership team and staff at Curtin to be a partner of the federal government in this process. My hope for this legislation is that further commercialised research and industry collaboration at Curtin University will see an ecosystem of innovation that expands job opportunities for my community and adds value to the Western Australian industries.

Our government has brought this bill before the House so soon after our election because of our hopes for the sector and the broader economy. It complements our plans for a national reconstruction fund and aligns with Labor's aspiration to support a world-class research sector. Our decisive action is about giving stakeholders certainty and putting confidence back in the economy.

I am fortunate to have a university in my electorate named after the great Labor man John Curtin because it was a Curtin Labor government that was the last government to pursue such an expansive investment in manufacturing, as we're doing through the National Reconstruction Fund. His vision for Australia's economy after the Second World War was one of full employment, harnessing Australia's ingenuity and establishing our sovereign manufacturing capability. So successful was John Curtin's vision that it became upheld policy of both parties until the 1970s. That vision is something we share, and we would also like to see jobs available for every Australian who wants one.

We would like to have a sense of pride in our nation's products by expanding the presence of the made-in-Australia tag at home and abroad and just when we want to build our sovereign capability and protect our communities during times of crises, such as we saw during the COVID pandemic. And, in the spirit of bipartisanship, I see this bill, created by the previous government, as to be one that should be commended to the House. And although it's smaller in scope compared to other policies of the Curtin or Albanese Labor government, it is a step forward in the advance of our capacity as a nation.

I'd like to conclude by saying that Australia is a smart nation. We are hardworking, intelligent and innovative. I support this bill because my community knows that if we are to diversify our economy we need to support our researchers and universities. I support this because I know that Curtin University, in the heart of Swan, will be supported in commercialising their research. I support this bill because an innovative, commercially viable research sector will be critical in supporting the Albanese Labor government's National Reconstruction Fund. Finally, I support this bill because I believe if we invent it here we should make it here.

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