Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Well, it is clear that we are not going to get an answer to that. But I just want to go back to the minister's suggesting that it is not a legitimate question to ask, first of all, which businesses he consulted about the refusal to pay quarterly payments and, secondly, what research he has on the impact of taking $1.1 billion out of research and development and of these particular changes on smaller and medium enterprises and public institutions such as CSIRO and universities. I do not see, Minister—why don't you go back to your sedan chair and finish your conversation somewhere else? Can I just ask, Minister: why will you not tell the Senate and the Australian people what the impact is going to be of taking $1.1 billion out of research and development on CSIRO and on universities and small and medium-size enterprises? If you have done the work that you have said you have done, and if Senator Wang's amendment does as you say, you should be able to tell us what the likely impact is going to be on universities, given that you are taking millions out of the universities already and given that you have slashed CSIRO funding by more than $1 million. Now you are reducing research and development capacity that would flow on to them because, as I said, these larger institutions actually contract some of these small and medium-size businesses and involve universities.

Please answer the question. I think Australia's universities, Australia's research community and Australia's small businesses deserve to know what modelling you have on the impact of taking $1.1 billion out and these changes on their capacity for research, innovation, new technology and jobs growth, because this is where the jobs engine is, not in the old fossil fuels sector, not in the old 'dig it up, cut it down, ship it away'. The innovation is in these future businesses that are working with the universities. And I want to know the impact on the universities, especially given, as I indicated before, that the University of New South Wales has said that 20 per cent of its research effort is backed by companies that will be directly affected by the bill. Now, if that is the University of New South Wales, it will be the same for the other big universities around the country, and smaller ones as well. What is the impact on those universities and research institutions?