Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is very encouraging to see those opposite showing such a keen interest in innovation these days, because they certainly did not when they were in government. They never showed much interest during their 11 years in government. Those 11 years saw Australia go backwards as our competitors forged ahead. Australia ranked eighth in the OECD for business expenditure on research and development as a share of GDP in 1995-96. By 2005-06 we had slipped to 15th—from eighth to 15th. Why? Because Australia was one of only three OECD countries to reduce its tax benefits for business research and development in the late nineties while 12 countries increased their level of support.

That was nothing compared to what those opposite did to our universities. Between 1995 and 2004, public funding for tertiary education rose 49 per cent on average across the OECD. In Australia, guess what? It fell four per cent. Australia was the only OECD country where the total level of public funding for tertiary education decreased during that time. Is it any wonder that the government’s review of the national innovation system has attracted over 630 submissions from all quarters of the Australian community and all sectors of the economy?

The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research has said the decision to close the Commercial Ready program was not taken lightly. He has also said that the government will honour all existing contracts under the Commercial Ready program. The government will also continue to support Australia’s innovative businesses through research and development tax concessions, the research and development tax offset, the Commercialising Emerging Technologies program and a range of venture capital measures, as well as new initiatives such as Enterprise Connect, including Researchers in Business, Clean Business Australia and the Green Car Innovation Fund.

The budget that delivered the closure of Commercial Ready is also the budget that delivered new directions for innovation, competitiveness and productivity. It has delivered significant changes in Australian government innovation policy aimed at ending the brain drain, working in partnership with Australian businesses to tackle climate change and providing more effective support to small businesses and innovative companies.

Initiatives for the Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio include: a $326.2 million investment over four years in Future Fellowships to attract and retain the best and brightest midcareer researchers; $240 million over four years for new Clean Business Australia initiatives; $42 million over four years to provide funding to over 30 business enterprise centres, providing business advisory services to small businesses; the introduction of a small business advisory committee to help monitor regulation; a range of saving measures aimed at contributing to the Australian government savings plan and fight against inflation; $251 million to establish Enterprise Connect innovation centres to connect businesses with new ideas and new technology; $209 million to double the number of Australian postgraduate awards for PhD or masters-by-research students; and $500 million for the Green Car Innovation Fund to encourage the development and manufacture of low-emission vehicles in Australia.

The new innovation program to help make Australia climate ready is also significant—$75 million for the Climate Ready competitive grants program as part of the Clean Business Australia election commitment. Climate Ready will encourage Australian businesses to develop and commercialise products, processes and services that save energy and water, reduce pollution and use waste products in innovative ways. This initiative demonstrates Labor’s commitment to working in partnership with Australian industry to meet future challenges through innovations. Innovations supported by the Climate Ready program could include new technologies for water recycling, waste recovery or small-scale renewable energy. The development of green building materials to make homes more— (Time expired)