Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

We believe that a vibrant and diverse research component is an important part of a vibrant and diverse economy. Growing Australia's investment in R&D as a proportion of GDP is an important part of making that happen. Right now, we languish behind comparable nations, with overall investment in R&D as a proportion of GDP well below the OECD average.

This didn't happen overnight. Those opposite were in power for 21 of the last 27 years. The last time investment in R&D peaked at 2.25 per cent of GDP was when Labor was last in government. On the Liberals' watch, R&D investment over the last decade plunged to 1.68 per cent. For the last 10 years, those opposite let R&D spending contract across the economy. They undermined our scientists and universities and dared Australia's manufacturers to leave the country. Turning this around is going to take more than one budget cycle. But it's not just about governments. It requires a cultural shift from all of us as businesses, universities and governments. It requires moving from thinking about investment in R&D as a nice thing to have when times are good to thinking of it as being essential for an innovative, resilient country.

The Albanese government knows this and is laying the groundwork for Australia to get back off the mat. This includes things like $15 billion for the National Reconstruction Fund, $392 million for the Industry Growth Program, $9 billion in direct support for national research organisations like the CSIRO and $3.2 billion through the R&D tax incentive. It's why the Minister for Education has been undertaking the Universities Accord as well. You can see from the objectives of the government that we value research. This important bill that we're discussing today is an example of that.