Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I think you've just highlighted the gross hypocrisy of what the government is putting in terms of its position. The government is trying to prosecute an argument that it is handing over funding decision-making ability to an independent board, and yet you are now standing on your feet justifying why the minister will retain ministerial discretion over hundreds of millions of dollars. As we have made clear in our contributions in this debate, it is improper for the government to absolve itself of ministerial discretion in relation to all of the moneys provided to the ARC, and I have to raise concerns that I raised in my second reading contribution about the government's cut to research funding in the last MYEFO statement.

As you well know, the Albanese government, when it was in opposition, made a commitment before the 2022 election to increase funding for research, in fact, to three per cent of GDP. So could you please update the Senate on what's happened to that commitment, and how much additional funding this government has provided to the ARC and to research more generally. Frankly, Assistant Minister, when I look at the government's record on research, it is appalling. In the last MYEFO statement, some $102 million was cut from research programs, which shows a very poor commitment, frankly, to Australian research. So I would ask the assistant minister to explain the government's position in that respect and also update the Senate on the now government's election commitment to increase research funding to three per cent of GDP.