Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I have always thought that Senator Schacht had a lot to contribute to public debate and now that I find out he is communicating with the opposition on these things, I think we are obviously in very good shape indeed. I raise the issue of the failure of the previous government to fulfil its responsibilities to this nation. We had a situation over the 11-odd years of the previous government’s regime where our position slipped dramatically by international standards. No matter what measure you looked at, there was clear evidence that the previous government neglected its responsibilities when it came to the national innovation agenda. That is why we have instituted the national innovation review. We understand that Australia was one of the only OECD countries with a total level of public support for innovation which actually declined. Other countries, our competitors, saw it increase quite dramatically. That is what— (Time expired)