Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

The government is focused on how we translate research effort into economic outcomes, improved policy outcomes, jobs and employment opportunities for Australia. We recognise that research infrastructure is critical to this, and that is why as a government we addressed the funding cliff that was left by the previous government for the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, providing $3 million to give certainty of operation to 30 June 2017. Indeed, we are focused on making sure we address that issue for a longer term certainty in relation to NCRIS and other areas of research training.

It is programs like this and other research programs that support new infrastructure such as the exciting new facility at Deakin University in Geelong, the Centre for Advanced Design in Engineering Training, which I had the pleasure of opening just last week. This $55 million facility includes manufacturing technologies, CNC machining centres, 3-D printers, a virtual reality lab, a chemical corrosives and material lab and a high voltage lab, all designed to improve— (Time expired)