E&OE…
Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here representing the Minister for Education, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP. He sends you his best wishes for today’s showcase and for this event, and for the crucially important work of NCRIS-funded researchers.
Australia has a proud history in producing ground-breaking research, including in fields such as medicine, biology, agriculture, water management and mining. We have produced some of the most important researchers and innovations of the past century, including the Black Box, the Cochlear Implant, Wi-Fi and of course Ian Frazer’s Human Papilloma Virus vaccine.
Research benefits people through new health treatments, new technologies and now insights into old problems. As a result of research, we live longer and more productive lives.
Research helps our successful businesses grow. It helps create employment in Australia and boosts Australian production. Research addresses the world’s most pressing problems and challenges to benefit individuals, families, and the wider community.
Access to top quality research infrastructure – equipment, facilities and services – is vital in supporting world-class research.
Many fields of research, particularly those which seem to hold the most promise, are reliant on specialised research infrastructure. If we want to develop new materials through nanotechnology, develop new drugs, study the marine environment or study the universe through astronomy, there is simply no choice but to have the required facilities.
Given the importance and cost of research infrastructure, there is a strong rationale for the Government to invest in this area. We know that no single education institution, research institute or industry is able to fund the large scale infrastructure needed to ensure Australian research is competitive and is not left behind by ever increasing global competition.
This Government supports a world-leading research system.
As part of the Government’s 2014-15 Budget, we will invest $11 billion over four years in research in Australian universities, including $139.5 million for the Future Fellowships Scheme and $150 million in 2015-16 to continue NCRIS. This is in addition to other support for research, including through the Medical Research Future Fund.
The National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy has enabled an estimated 30 000 Australian and international researchers to access world-leading research equipment and facilities. It supports a community including over 1 500 technical experts, researchers and facility managers employed in 222 institutions to support 27 active projects.
Without NCRIS, Australia would not have its largest and most powerful supercomputing facilities – the Pawsey Centre in Western Australia and the National Computational Infrastructure facility in Canberra.
The NCI super computer has enabled work to understand fluid behaviour in oil reservoirs, information critically important in the extraction of oil and gas. The significance of this work is demonstrated by the development of the company Lithicon, a spin-off from the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales, which was sold earlier this year for a remarkable $76 million.
The Pawsey Centre has put Australia on the world stage, facilitating collaboration on national and international projects. This includes the Square Kilometre Array project, involving institutions from over 20 countries to design and construct a next generation radio telescope that will be used by scientists to investigate fundamental scientific questions about the universe.
NCRIS has seen Australia emerge as a world leader in quantum computing through work carried out at the University of New South Wales, using expertise and facilities available through the Australian National Fabrication Facility. These developments promise exponential increases in processing speed over today’s computers and will improve how we are able to construct and test new drugs, search through huge amounts of data, and ensure that information is fundamentally secure.
Associate Professor Andrea Morello from the University of New South Wales was awarded the Prime Minister’s 2013 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year for his work in developing the silicon components to make quantum computing possible.
There is no question about the impact NCRIS has in Australia and internationally. This is well recognised by universities, research facilities, state governments and industry, with NCRIS projects leveraging a total of $1 billion from across these groups.
As part of the Government’s higher education reform package, we have addressed the funding cliff we inherited for research infrastructure by securing the future of NCRIS beyond the current end date of June 2015. Another integral part of the higher education reforms is funding the Australian Research Council’s Future Fellowships programme for mid-career researchers, who are so important to Australia’s research effort. Future Fellows will now be an ongoing programme, and $139.5 million has been provided for this over the next four years.
The ongoing development of the Government’s research agenda will be informed by the views of the university and research sectors, input from industry bodies and important reviews, such as the National Commission of Audit.
The Commission found that research infrastructure is critical to Australia’s research and development system, recommending that the Government commit to:
ongoing funding for critical research infrastructure in Australia, informed by a reassessment of existing research infrastructure provision and requirements.
In line with this constructive approach, Minister Pyne has announced that a positive review of future research infrastructure needs will commence soon.
In Opposition in 1945, Menzies said that:
the research aspect of university work needs to be brought into the very forefront of our educational thinking.
He recognised that good research took time, and that its value to the world was not always immediately apparent to wider society:
It is of the most vital importance for human progress in all fields of knowledge that the highest encouragement should be given to untrammelled research, to the vigorous pursuit of truth, no matter how unorthodox it may seem.
I’m sure these words express the sentiments of everyone here today.
They definitely align with the Government’s commitment to provide active support for research and research infrastructure programmes.
The Government will safeguard the future of Australia’s world-class research and research infrastructure, and help prepare Australia and the world for the challenges before us. I ask you to continue to work with us in this endeavour and I am confident that you will enjoy your time at today’s showcase and networking event.
ENDS