Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McKenzie—one of this chamber's pre-eminent advocates for education, research and innovation—for her question. Central to the Turnbull government's plan for enhanced investment, innovation, growth and jobs is, absolutely, innovation and science as part of our National Innovation and Science Agenda. It has been a year of awesome outcomes for the innovation and science agenda. A year of awesome outcomes! We have delivered over the past year some $10.7 billion in funding to secure higher education research over the forward estimates. We have provided certainty—not just for a couple of years but 10 years of certainty of funding for Australia's critical research infrastructure—including through $1.5 billion of support for the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, which provides job certainty and security for 1,700 researchers and technical experts and provides benefits for around 35,000 Australian and international researches who use these critical facilities.

On top of this, we have Alan Finkel, the Chief Scientist, developing a road map of critical national scale research infrastructure, so that we can set the long-term direction for what is required to invest in and develop our research capabilities, supporting innovation into the future. This is complemented by: an additional $16 million for 10 NCRIS projects across urban infrastructure, bioscience, telecommunications and health; new streamlined arrangements for university research block grants coming into effect from 1 January next year; an additional $180 million for incentives for engagement with industry and end users by our universities; and new arrangements for the ARC linkage grants for continuous application to make it easier for engagement between universities and businesses in the future.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, a supplementary question.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline how these measures are complemented by other measures within the education portfolio to encourage innovation?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is not just in the university research space that we are supporting capability building in innovation and science. It, of course, is comprehensive across areas of STEM development, led by our National STEM School Education Strategy, which is actually driving and enhancing take-up, supported by a $112 million boost to STEM skills, particularly focused on the early years—how it is we get that engagement from those very youngest and earliest learners, through programs like Little Scientists and Let's Count, which are reaching around 350,000 children across Australia. They are supported by Cracking the Code and computer challenges in years 5 and 7; new STEM summer schools; MOOCs such as the University of Adelaide's new MOOC providing greater support for teachers of science students in years 6, 7 and 8; as well as our investment in new PhD internships with the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, to give greater capacity for 1,400 industry PhD internships to skill more Australians. (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKenzie, a final supplementary question.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister describe how these actions compare with any alternative policies?

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They compare quite starkly with the absence of any vision, any focus or any long-term certainty, which the previous government provided for science and innovation in Australia. If you look at the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, the previous government left a funding cliff in place for that, and it took the Turnbull government to ultimately give that long-term certainty to those thousands of researchers around Australia that their research infrastructure would be funded and give that certainty well into the future. Of course, it was a Labor government that rolled out some $6 billion worth of cuts to higher education between 2011 and 2013, with little regard for the impact that would have on research and innovation. But overall it is those opposite who seem to show complete disregard for the importance of building and strengthening ties between research institutions and business to get that collaboration that drives innovation and ultimately drives more growth and jobs in the Australian economy.