David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) to (4) on sheet 2413:

(1) Schedule 2, item 10, page 7 (line 7), omit "up to 5", substitute "up to 7".

(2) Schedule 2, item 10, page 8 (line 21), omit paragraph 11(c), substitute:

(c) not fewer than 5, and not more than 7, other members.

(3) Schedule 2, item 12, page 15 (lines 25 to 29), omit subsections 30(1) and (1A), substitute:

(1) The Minister may establish committees to assist the Board to determine priorities, strategies and policies for the ARC.

(4) Schedule 2, item 19, page 17 (lines 1 and 2), omit the item, substitute:

19 Section 33C

Repeal the section, substitute:

33C CEO to attend meetings and provide advice or assistance

(1) The CEO is to attend each meeting of the Board.

(2) The CEO:

(a) may provide any reasonable advice or assistance requested by the Chair for the purposes of the performance of the Board's functions; but

(b) must not take part in any decision of the Board under the following:

(i) subsection 34(2);

(ii) subsection 34(3);

(iii) subsection 34(4);

(iv) subsection 38(1);

(v) subsection 38(2);

(vi) section 40A;

(vii) subsection 40B(1).

Professor Mary O'Kane AC and her team have done great work as part of the Universities Accord process. I thank and commend her for it. The final report released on the weekend contains 47 recommendations that together have the capacity to transform tertiary education in Australia. I urge the government to accept them all and to implement them as a matter of urgency—in particular the measures relating to student safety, debt and income support. In a cost-of-living crisis these measures are urgently needed. Earlier today I met with the Australian Medical Students Association, and they relayed just how important it is that we provide support to students through placements and through their university years so they can actually serve our communities in all of these roles that we talk so much about desperately needing.

Canberra is a university town and a research powerhouse, and I want to see that flourish. Earlier we heard some debate about research investment and funding, and we heard the coalition try to blame Labor for this going backwards. But the fact remains that R&D funding as a percentage of GDP has been falling for 14 years in Australia. For 14 years it has been on a downward trajectory. Clearly this is something that needs to be turned around and turned around quickly. Just to quote a few things from the accord:

While Australian universities invest significantly in research, national R&D expenditure overall is low for an advanced economy and our rankings on innovation indices are poor. Securing Australia's high-quality research bedrock will require significant growth of Australia's R&D system. This growth cannot be achieved without a significant increase in Australia's expenditure on R&D as a proportion of GDP.

The ARC is clearly a critical part of Australia's research ecosystem, and this bill will significantly strengthen and safeguard that role. It gives effect to the terrific work led by Professor Margaret Sheil AO, and, critically, it takes away a power too often misused for the minister to intervene and stop research grants for purely politically ideological grounds. We've seen this happen in the past, and this political interference erodes trust and has no place in the kind of future we want to build in this country. We have to make sure that it can't happen again, and that's why I look forward to supporting this bill.

I'd like to thank Minister Clare's office for their engagement with me the over the amendments I'm seeking to this bill. The amendments I moved on sheet 2413 increase the number of board members and clarify the CEO's role as part of the board. I'll leave it there for now.