E&OE...........
Thank you very much Ian, Dr Nelson, ladies and gentlemen. One of the features of the Backing Australia';s Ability programme was a commitment to establish some world class centres of excellence and already announcements have been made in relation to information technology and today I';m really delighted to be associated with the announcement of the centre that will establish and run the Biotechnology Centre of Excellence. And I can announce today, ladies and gentlemen, that the successful applicant to establish and operate Australia';s Biotechnology Centre of Excellence is the Centre for Stem Cells and Tissue Repair.
This centre has been chosen from an outstanding field and will receive $43.55 million over the next four years. Under Professor Alan Trounson';s leadership the centre for stem cells and tissue repair will provide the vehicle for Australia to compete in the rapidly growing area of tissue regeneration and cell therapies. A key area of research will be the potential application of both adult and embryonic stem cells in the treatment of diabetes, vascular, bone and nerve damage, kidney disease and diseases of the blood and the skin. The centre will be truly national with its headquarters in Victoria and nodes in South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, providing a valuable boost to the Australian biotechnology industry. Partners in the centre include the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, the Universities of Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, New South Wales and the ANU, and the Victor Chang Cardio Vascular Research Institute. I hope that the centre will attract the world';s best researchers to Australia, especially many of our best and brightest who are currently working overseas.
Biotechnology as we know from debates of recent months is a sensitive area of research and all government funded research including the centre of excellence will be required to comply with the legislation that regulates biotechnology. This includes regulations arising from the recent decisions taken by COAG on the 4th of April 2002. The Government will ensure that scientific breakthroughs are guided by the community';s ethical considerations.
I';d like to thank the advisory panel of prominent Australian scientists and researchers, and its chairman Dr Peter Johnson, who oversaw the rigorous biotechnology centre of excellence research process. I would also like to thank the offices of Biotechnology Australia and the Australian Research Council and my ministerial colleagues on the biotechnology ministerial council for their efforts in bringing this initiative to fruition.
This is a very exciting day for Australian research, it really is. One of the goals of Backing Australia';s Ability was to put Australia';s name up in lights in two specific areas by establishing centres of excellence. You have to specialise, you have to carve out some organisations and units that are better than any others and you';ve got to give them the financial support to achieve their goals. We had a rigorous, and I believe fair, selection process. Inevitably some are disappointed. I think the choices made in both cases, that is in relation to information technology and also in biotechnology, I think the choices have been above reproach, have been quite outstanding and I think there';ll be great excitement in the Australian research community because the potential, particularly in the area of biotechnology and stem cell research, is quite literally unlimited. And I want as Prime Minister, I want Australia to be up there with more than a reasonable slice of the action and I think today';s announcement, and I know the work that Professor Trounson and his team will commit to this enterprise over the years ahead is going to deliver that.
So I';d like to congratulate Professor Trounson, I want to thank Dr Johnson and everybody else for the work they';ve put into and I wish them well, it';s a great day for Australian research.
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