PRIME MINISTER
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
ill OPENING OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE
11 CANBERRA 23 NOVEMBER 1988
Your Excellency, Mr'Yanagi,
oman Sir Neil Currie,
Ms Wendy McCarthy,
Mr Eishiro Saito,
Distinguished Guests,
est Ladies and Gentlemen.
will 1988 has been a memorable and exciting year for Australians.
Our Bicentenary has provided a magnificent opportunity not
only for celebration but also for more enduring achievements
which, long after 1988 has entered the history books, will
ng be appreciated by future generations of Australians.
The National Science and Technology Centre is just such a
project: innovative, important and enduring.
e ens There is of course only a very small number of national
institutions deemed worthy of location here in the
e a Parliamentary triangle the focal point both of Canberra's
he formal life and of its tourist activity.
and The decision to place the National Science and Technology
Centre among these premier institutions in this area
reflects the high priority the Government attaches to it.
Another proof of the importance we attach to this Centre is
the decision taken by Cabinet this week, which I am pleased
to announce tonight, to establish the Centre as a statutory
corporation. in this form, the Centre will receive the
recognition it deserves as a significant national
institution, and will also have the maximum autonomy to
pursue corporate sponsorship and other commercial
activities. So the Government does see this Centre as very important
and before I express my thanks to the many people who
deserve recognition for their contribution, I want briefly
to explain why this Centre is an important addition to
Canberra an3 to Australia. 372Lt
n i.
It is no overstatement to say that as welcome as this
building is in 1988, it is perhaps a pity that it was not
opened, say, twenty years ago.
if it had been, there would already have been two decades
during which Australian children were brought up with the
insights into science, and the enjoyment of science, that
this Centre now provides.
That could only have been to the benefit of the Australian
economy and to the Australian community.
Because if we are to have an economy restructured so as to
allow us sustainable prosperity in the future, we need to
get the fundamentals right first.
And one of these fundamentals is scientific research.
It has been argued by the Australian scientific community
that the hands and minds that should shape Australian
science into the next century are not being attracted to
careers in science.
If that is so, it would be a tragedy for all of us.
What is needed is a concerted national effort to encourage
the further development of science and technology in
Australia. The taxpayer is already contributing, through Government
programs, a fair share to this effort through tax
deduction schemes, through direct funding of basic and
applied research through the CSIRO and elsewhere, and
through the education system.
Accord-ing to the OECD, th e Australian public sector's
contribution to research compares favourably, as a
proportion of GDP, with similar countries.
The reforms to our education system now being put in place,
including the massive expansion in university places, will
continue this trend.
The work of the Australian Sci'lnce and Technology Council
will continue to provide an important and valued source of
independent advice to the Government.
The Government has also shown it is prepared to coordinate
research in new and emerging areas of inquiry, such as our
recently announced studies into the Greenhouse effect.
Just two weeks ago Australia was elected to vice
Chairmanship of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
set up by the United Nations and the World Meteorological
Organisation. This gives Australia a leading position in
the panel activities which'are seen as a prime focus for
world activity on the Greenhouse effect.
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But because of the fundamental importance of scientific
research, the Government recently decided to investigate
what further support should be given. I established a
senior officials group to suggest short and long term
measures that can be taken to strengthen our research and
development effort. This group will present a preliminary
report to Cabinet's Structural Adjustment Committee next
week. I can * assure you this process is not a cosmetic exercise to
stifle voices of concern. I and my colleagues will be
treating the report seriously and reacting positively.
Ultimately, however, Government can't do the job on its own.
industry has to play a greater part than it is now if we are
to expand those key sectors essential to our long term
competitiveness. It is to build an active partnership with industry that we
are reforming CSIRO and university laboratories to make
better use of their enormous reserves of talent.
We want to see Australian industry take a greater role in
direct research spending and in supporting Australian
researchers so that those who have made a world-class
e breakthrough with world-wide commercial application are not
forced, as they have been too often in the past, to look
overseas to develop their findings.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For all these reasons, the sponsors of this new Centre are
to be especially congratulated.
The Centre has a number of major sponsors from Australian
industry but I am sure I speak for the Centre when I say
it would be keen to hear from other companies as potential
sponsors.
e, I pay tribute to my ministerial colleague, Barry Jones, who
I has been committed to this project from the start, and I
congratulate Dr Michael Gore and his colleagues who brought
to the Centre the skills and enthusiasm of Questacon.
f But perhaps more than anyone else, the Government and
business community of Japan deserve our most sincere thanks.
e Their generous financial contribution provided about half
the total construction costs of this Centre, which makes it
a very substantial Bicentennial gift indeed.
So it is appropriate too that the grounds of the Ceintre will
nge be adorned by some of the 1200 1cherry trees which were also
given to Australia by Japan to mark our Bicentenary. 3723
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This is perhaps a precursor of great things to come. For if
we are to succeed in establishing a stronger commitment to
our research base then we will also need to look closely, as
we are, at concepts such as the Multifunction Polis which
has been proposed by Japan.
This may become a unique cooperative venture between
Australia and Japan and we can ill afford to let gestures of
this kind slip from our grasp.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This Centre will provide a tremendous boost to Australian
science, and a major new attraction for school groups and
other tourists who come to Canberra.
This Centre will justly stand as an enduring symbol of the
friendship between Australia and Japan.
I wish the Centre well in its future activities.
This Centre is all about " hands-on" scientific experience.
It is now my pleasure, in a " hands-on" fashion, to declare
open the National Science and Technology Centre.
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