CHEC AGANSTDEULNITERIYLE MDBEALRIGVOEERDY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
OPENING OF THE COMMONWEALTH SERUM LABORATORIES'
HUMAN VACCINE BUILDING AT PARKVILLE 13 APRIL 1984
Distinguished Guests
It is with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to
join you today.
This new human vaccine building, this new biotechnology
facility, is a major addition to the nation's health care
system. At a cost of approximately $ 9 million it represents a
significant investment by the Australian community in the
health of present and future generations.
CSL is well established as an important supplier of vaccines
for the Australian population. The diphtheria, tetanus and
whooping cough vaccines from this new facility will further
underwrite the health of Australia's children into the next
century. It is also important that this plant will have the potential
to be a major supplier for the communicable disease control
program through which the World Health Organisation is
attempting to ensure the health of the children of the
developing countries.
It is appropriate that this building is named " the Bazeley
Building'. Val Bazeley is the man to whom Australia owed its penicillin
and after, when he became director of CSL, to whom it owed
its polio vaccine. It was his determination and great flair
for organization that enabled full scale penicillin
production at CSL. This saved many Australian lives in New
Guinea during the closing stages of the Second World War.
I am delighted that Val Bazeley is with us here today. Val
Bazeley's contribution to public health in Australia is
immense. It was a contribution made, I might add, at great
personal cost.
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The Australian Pharmaceutical Industry is predominantly
engaged in the marketing of products formulated and packaged
from imported active ingredients. The Commonwealth Serum
Laboratories as a Government owned pharmaceutical
manufacturer with a substantial manufacturing base, is a
notable exception.
Founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of vaccines and antisera,'
CSL's biological product and national interest missions have
been key aspects of its operation.
The establishment of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories
Commission in 1961 as a statutory authority included a
mandate which required that commercial operations be
dominant and meet post tax dividend criteria from trading
profits, and that non commercial operations be undertaken
only to the extent of allotted Government budget funds.
Today, with an annual total revenue approaching $ 60 million,
the commercial operations are responsible for more than
per cent of total activity.
The CSL, as the Ross Committee recently noted, provides one
of the few examples of a commonwealth authority which
operates in a fully commercial manner.
Since its establishment the CSL commission has demonstrated
its ability to pursue successfully both national interest
and commercial roles. The commercial orientation has
provided a stimulus to overall performance, a degree of
efficiency, and a public and Government acceptance that
could not have been achieved through pursuit of national
interest functions alone.
Furthermore, in providing work for more than 1000 people,
many of whom reside in my own electorate, CSL makes a
substantial contribution to local employment.
Over its 65 years of existence CSL has established an
excellent rapport with doctors, pharmacists, veterinary
surgeons, hospitals, State Government departments and the
scientific and research community generally. Members of
these groups have come to value CSL because in most cases
CSL is their only Australian origin source of supply. They
also value it for the high standard of its products; the
back up and consultative services provided by its R and D
section ( which is unique in Australia); and its willingness
to attempt to solve and provide for problems of
distinctively Australian character.
Many of the major advances of this century in therapeutics
have been taken up by CSL and developed commercially. They
include: Industrial scale manufacture of insulin
Diphtheria toxoid
Tetanus toxoid
Penicillin and
Salk polio vaccine
In addition to these contributions to human health we can
add CSL's extensive range of vaccines in veterinary
medicine. CSL is also, as noted earlier, a World Health Organisation
collaborating centre with extensive terms of reference.
Through that role it undertakes training and aid programs
for our Asian neighbours.
CSL is well placed to be a focus of pharmaceutical
biotechnology in Australia. The main thrust of CSL's work
is pharmaceutical biotechnology, which it is able to carry
from research through to production and marketing. More of
its resources are being directed to aspects of ' new
biotechnology'. Through collaborative arrangements with
CSL, an excellent opportunity exists for both private and
public sector research advances to find the route to
commercial development in this area.
To support its R and D based biological production, CSL has
developed a strong presence in the national pharmaceutical
markets and effective international linkages through
vigorous export performance and licensing arrangements.
CSL has gained international recognition for its planning
and marketing strategies and has won three export awards for
outstanding export achievement since these were instituted
by the Commonwealth.
The experience and indeed the success of CSL in taking new
products through from the research and development stage to
successful marketing stands as a compelling example to
others in Australian industry.
Too often Australian industry has failed to take advantage
of new products and processes and as a result misses out on
new markets. The opportunity to create jobs and make
profits is also missed. r~.
While Australia has a well-educated workforce and makes a
substantial effort in the area of science and technology,
there is a problem in taking this R and D effort through to
successful commercial development:
People and institutions involved in research often
fail to take new products or processes to
commercial development what is needed from our
institutions is " technology push"; and
Existing companies fail to seek out areas where
technological breakthroughs could be profitably
exploited they are not providing the necessary
" demand pull".
The Government is concerned at this situation and has sought,.
to draw the various strands together. In particular:
The Government has established sirotech to take
developments pioneered by the CSIRO to commercial
application. In addition, we are pleased to see
that universitites and research institutions have
also adopted the approach of setting up commercial
ventures to market their research findings;
The Government has also sought to help small
business to exploit available market opportunities
through the development of a venture capital market
in Australia. This should help businessmen to take
Australian, or overseas technological
breakthroughs, and turn them into profitable
business ventures.
The response to these initiatives has been encouraging.
The promotion of efforts to bridge the gap between research
and development is part of the Government's overall approach
to the area of science and technology and needs to be seen
in the context of the Government's genera. approach to the
development of Australian industry.
The linkages are drawn out quite fully in the discussion
paper on a National Technology Strategy released today by my
colleague Mr Jones, the Minister for Science and Technology.
While acceptance of an overall strategy will depend
ultimately on an appreciation of the major issues facing
Australia in this area by all parties involved, release of
this paper is an important part of the process of developing
an active and coherent approach to technology issues and
their relevance for Australian industry growth.
ti..
While the Government recognises the value of scientific
research and the pursuit of scientific excellence for its
own sake, there are additional benefits if this research can
be turned into new methods of production or new products
which increase productivity or living standards. Such
technological developments will play an important part in
the dynamic processes of structural change within Australian
industry. Indeed we should not ignore this process.
Companies abroad are investing in new products and
in cost reducing production technology, and unless
Australian industry acts to maintain its
competitiveness and to develop new mar'kets our
economy will stagnate and we will fail to sustain
living standards commensurate with our ability and,,
expectations.
The Government believes that there is now a quite widespread
community acceptance of the need for structural change.
There is also a growing community appreciation of the
benefits such change will bring. But change, no matter how
desirable, usually imposes costs on those directly affected.
It is my firm view, however, that the costs and benefits of
change should be borne by all in the community not solely
by those at the face of change.
As part of this approach, the Government considers that
technological change needs to be managed constructively. it
is simply not good enough to be in a position of constantly
reacting to the effects of technological innovation as it
proceeds. Rather we should:
Aim to consolidate and give substance to the
climate of acceptance of change within the
community; Build on the willingness on the part of business
both to take active steps to adopt the most
appropriate technology, and to consider market
possibilities both domestically and externally; and
ensure that our scientific and educational effort
is supportive of our policy objectives.
To co-ordinate policies in the areas of education, trade,
science and technology and industry, the Government has
established a special group of Ministers, chaired by Senator
Button. Their work will form the basis of our policies to
revitalise our industry.
Some issues they are considering go to both education policy
directions and the practical/ commercial application of
research. They are asking:
What are the educational requirements for
Australia's technological future? How can the
education system best provide for Australia's
needs? The content and orientation of courses is
particularly crucial. Falling school retention
rates, which threaten to lower the educational
quality of our workforce in the future are also
important;
They are also asking:
How can Australia get the best dividedd from its
very considerable investment in Government tertiary
research? What further measures could be
introduced to close the gap between research and
commercial development? In particular what role is
there for joint ventures with overseas companies to
develop Australian research?
In the area of science and technology this Governemnt has
already taken several initiatives:
We have provided extra funding t~ o extend the
Australian industrial research and development
incentives scheme to encompass biotechnology
projects; We have increased funding for the Australian
Research Grants Scheme, the aim being to support
research projects designed to assist in an
understanding of or the solution to important
practical problems;
And we have established the national research
fellowships scheme to provide individuals and
research teams with opportunities to undertake
research of national significance, with a view to
strengthening Australia's development capacity.
One other initiative which has special relevance to CSL is
the National Biotechnology Scheme. As I noted at the outset
this new building is an important biotechnology facility.
Among the high technology industries, biotechnology holds
considerable promise for the generation of wealth. New and
improved products and processes can be obtained through
biotechnology techniques, which often are more efficient and
use less energy than the traditional processes.
Furthermore, Australian researchers are world leaders in
many areas of biotechnology including agriculture, plant and
animal genetics, microbiology, biochemistry and medical
research.
The Government has embarked on a National Biotechnology
Program which builds upon the excellent research base we
have in microbiology and genetic engineering as well as in
other fields. Grants for seven projects worth $ 4.5 million
have been approved for the calendar years 1984 to 1986.
Although by no means the only worthy research projects
currently under way, the seven projects chosen to be the
first recipients of the grants represent a diversity of
biotechnological research and share the potential for
placing this country in the forefront of international
efforts in their respective fields.
The gap between research and product development must be
closed. The slow rate of technology transfer into new
products and rocesses must be accelerated. We must learn
not only how to develop the product we must also focus on
what the market requires.
What we have to recapture today is the spirit, energy and
vision of people like Bazeley, Florey and John Curtin which
in different and disparate ways lead to great Australian
ventures such as industrial scale penicillin production at
CSL and the establishment of the Australian National
University with its John Curtin School of Medical Research.
We must again bring together all who can contribute to a
coherent national effort in technology development. We
should do this so that we can take full advantage of the
promise offered by our scientific endeavour and our resource
endowment. CSL, and this new " Bazeley Building" in particular, are
poised to take advantage of new technologies and to contine,
through increased pharmaceutical technology development, the
great service given over the years to this country.
CSL stands as a great example which I commend to all
Australians. Accordingly it is with great pleasure that I
now formally declare this new Human Vaccine Building the
Bazeley building open.
L