Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Hansard source

The Labor Party will support the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Amendment Bill 2017. It's a bill which will allow for the crucially important public funding of a research agency to expand its operation. ANSTO conducts its operations at the Sydney campus, which is the nuclear research reactor at Lucas Heights, and at the Melbourne campus, the Australian Synchrotron.

I regard ANSTO as one of the jewels in the crown of the Australian innovation system. ANSTO is one of those organisations that have gone from strength to strength. ANSTO is one of those organisations that I think are undervalued within this country. Of course, it's one of those organisations that people are only too happy to call upon, particularly when it comes to radiopharmaceuticals. I note that people are only too happy to complain about the use of nuclear research, except they fail to appreciate very fundamental questions about the value of nuclear research in so many aspects of everyday life, everything from smoke detectors to dials that we use on our clocks. This is, of course, an area of activity which was underestimated in its importance across the country.

ANSTO has expanded its activities at its Sydney campus, including at its nuclear medicine facility, and it has tripled production of molybdenum-99, which has been in worldwide shortage. Something like 800,000 Australians every year enjoy the benefits of this radiopharmaceutical. The aim, of course, of this proposed new development is to build a campus of major national innovation precincts. The legislation governing ANSTO unduly restricts its scope and the potential for the precinct. However, this legislation preserves the public interest and ensures that land cannot be alienated but can be used in such a way as to attract new investment and allow for operations to be expanded and for greater collaborations between the public and private sectors in an important area of public good—research.

As I said, the legislation as currently formed is unduly restrictive on what ANSTO can do. The bill overcomes this by allowing ANSTO to share its knowledge, expertise, facilities and properties with other entities. These entities need not have a direct involvement in nuclear science or technology but, of course, will need to be associated with the direct work that ANSTO is undertaking. The bill widens the definition of scientific research, innovation and training in ANSTO so that they are able to go beyond immediate work on nuclear science and technology.

The precinct itself will aim to produce a graduate institute providing research positions for up to 400 postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows at both Sydney and Melbourne campuses. I regard that as an extraordinarily ambitious target. I look forward to that actually being achieved. Nonetheless, I think the framework for this legislation allows that ambition to be pursued and I look forward to working with ANSTO to see that that is actually able to be pursued.

The changes that we're seeing here allow ANSTO to cooperate with industry, with universities, and with other publicly funded research agencies. This is the kind of exchange between sectors and agencies which I promoted when I have been the minister. It is an area of public enterprise which this parliament should encourage and should develop; therefore, I think this bill is entitled to be supported. I look forward to the measures that were actually initiated by the previous Labor government in this area, which saw the development of the innovation precincts across this country, which led ultimately to the Australian jobs plan which was developed in 2002. I believe this is an extension of that type of thinking, and it is appropriate that this bill be endorsed by this parliament.