Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Carr. Can the minister inform the Senate what action the government is taking to close the gender gap in the research workforce and what the minister is doing to make sure women researchers take up research opportunities in our universities and other public research agencies?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stephens for her question. I know she has had a long-standing interest in the question of women researchers. I indicate to the chamber that the Labor government is determined to ensure that all Australians have the opportunity to realise their full potential. And in the research sector we want to ensure that we can answer the needs of the country and the aspirations of individuals. As far as research is concerned, the government demands no less than excellence. In particular, we acknowledge that we cannot afford to squander the talents of our best researchers, and women have been underrepresented in the research workforce for far too long. The record shows that women compete very successfully at an elite level when they apply. That is why the Prime Minister announced last night two prestigious new awards for elite women researchers. They are named after two distinguished and inspiring Australian women researchers, Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Georgina Sweet. These fellowships will help remedy the significant discrepancy in the number of male and female applicants for our competitive fellowship schemes, especially at that elite level. They will include additional funding to allow fellows to act as ambassadors and as mentors for women in the research community. We are supporting our most talented women and we are encouraging the next generation to follow in their footsteps. Our approach, as outlined in the 10-year Powering Ideas white paper, was to ensure that we have a strong research workforce that drives productivity growth across the economy; provides the knowledge to help our established industries work cleaner, smarter and cheaper; and allows Australia to absorb the best ideas—(Time expired)

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate what other measures the government is taking to tap the unrealised potential of our research sector? In particular, what approach is being taken to recognise family responsibility that can impede career progression?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a very serious question. We understand that women who leave the workforce for family reasons are disadvantaged by the application processes that have traditionally focused on a researcher’s track record. That is why the ARC is replacing the concept of track record with fairer criteria of research opportunity and performance evidence. The ARC is also supporting the next generation of talented women researchers through the early career researchers awards. We know that we cannot afford to let the talents of half our population go to waste. The Howard years left a legacy of broken careers, underfunded projects and disillusioned workers. The Gillard Labor government recognise that a world-class research sector demands a world-class research workforce and we are building our measures to support all our researchers, unlike the miserable record—(Time expired)

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister also advise how the government’s research workforce strategy will contribute to the national productivity agenda?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government does not support our best and brightest researchers out of charity. We support them because they are vital to the prosperity of the nation. They have the knowledge and the skills to make our industries more sustainable, more competitive and more productive. That is why we are breaking down the barriers between our research sectors and business. Our new industrial PhD scheme will put 200 talented researchers right on the factory and office floor. They will directly help businesses to boost their performance and their profits. Our new R&D tax credit will make sure that the benefits of our taxation incentive schemes are fairly distributed. We want to reduce the impediments for small and medium size business to actually employ people with research training. This is a country that desperately needs to change our approach to PhD training and the employment of more PhD graduates not just at university but throughout the economy. (Time expired)

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.