Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Senator Minchin. Minister, your government has committed more than 100 million taxpayer dollars to embryonic stem cell research. Minister, what results have there been to show for this money?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will accept off the top of my head that Senator Fielding is correct with respect to the amount of funding that has been contributed to the Australian Stem Cell Centre. As Senator Fielding well knows, the parliament passed legislation some four years ago with respect to research on surplus embryos as a result of IVF procedures. It is now lawful in this country to conduct such research. Senator Fielding well knows that my own personal position in what was a conscience vote was contrary to that outcome. Nevertheless, it is now the law of this land that it is legally possible, under certain restrictions, to conduct research on surplus embryos.

There is the Australian Stem Cell Centre, which has been established with a view to conducting such research in a competitive environment for grant funding. It did receive and has received funding under various federal government programs with which it can conduct research. Once a field of research is legally endorsed in this country then it is perfectly proper and appropriate for research centres to apply for research funding from grant programs that provide such medical research funding. They are normally competitive processes. The Australian Stem Cell Centre has got to compete with other research centres for that money in order to win research funds.

There was an independent review of the Australian Stem Cell Centre which was a scheduled performance review, and that is part of the normal function of the administration of that program. The review assessed the ASCC’s obligations under the Biotechnology Centre of Excellence program and the Major National Research Facilities Program. The review confirms that the ASCC has built a strong foundation for meeting its obligations, has a high standard of science, has excellent management and research staff and has developed world-class research in IP management processes.

The review confirmed that the ASCC has been professionally established and managed. The review found that the ASCC could strengthen its strategic focus, relationship management and long-term financial planning in order to more readily meet the long-term program objectives. The review also considered that the administration of the grant deed, particularly reporting requirements, could be streamlined. The ASCC and Commonwealth offices are working together to implement the review’s findings.

So the centre to which Senator Fielding refers, which has received Commonwealth funding under several government programs, has been properly reviewed. Those were the outcomes of the review. I acknowledge that Senator Fielding would, like me, not personally support this sort of research, but, whether he or I like it or not, it is lawful in this country to conduct such research. Our job as a government is to make sure that those who receive Commonwealth taxpayers’ funds to conduct such research do so properly and effectively and in accordance with the deed under which they receive the funding. That review of the performance has been conducted and the results are as I outlined.

Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, how can the government continue to justify spending tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money on embryonic stem cell research when the world stem cell expert, Professor James Sherley, says in today’s Australian that there is no hope whatsoever of such research producing cures?

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not know whether this is a commentary that comes before the debate that we are all going to have on the private members’ bills which are being brought before us. Senator Fielding, I and others will all have our opportunity to express our own views on this matter. However, as Senator Fielding well knows, the fact is that we had a debate four years ago. This parliament made lawful, under certain circumstances, research on embryos that have been produced as a result of IVF procedures and that are surplus to the IVF procedure. Arrangements were set up under which research centres could compete for funding under a variety of government programs with independently observed criteria. This particular centre won the right to Commonwealth government funding to conduct that research under a properly contested and independently assessed regime. The performance of the fund is being assessed. That is a matter for the law. (Time expired)