Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

If Senator Canavan does not mind, I will finish the last part of that last answer. As I was saying, the NMI's molecular biologists will collaborate with Australian researchers to evaluate a new approach to detecting childhood leukaemia, potentially providing cheaper and faster diagnosis, which I would have thought would have been supported by everyone in this chamber. Clearly, from the attitude across the chamber, that is not so.

Now, our government is finalising its national science, technology, engineering and mathematics policy, the STEM policy. We have already launched our national science and research priorities and assessed associated challenges. The Minister for Industry and Science is working with the Minister for Education and Training to implement a new approach to the funding of national research infrastructure. We are working very closely across industry and the science community to get the fundamentals right and develop a national science policy that will position Australia well into the future. We are spending $3.1 billion— (Time expired)