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WA,
PRIME MINISTER 145/ 92
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING,
MP AND THE MINISTER ASSISTING THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE
MINISTER FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, THE HON ROSS FREE,
MP THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S SCIENCE AND
ENGINEERING COUNCIL
Thc Prime Minister's Science and Engineering Council met today for the seventh time.
The Prime Minister chaired the meeting.
Major items discussed by the Council were Science and Technology Opportunities and
Strategies in the Asia Pacific Region, Nanotechnology and Microcrigineering, and
Scheduled ( Intractable) Waste.
The report, Science and Technology Opportunities and Strategies in the Asia Pacific
Region, was developed by an independent working group consisting of senior people
from industry and higher education bodies actively involved in extending our reach
into the region.
Presentations based on the report were made by Professor Stuart Harris, chair of the
working group, and two othcr members of the group, Professor Stephen Hill,
Wollongong University, and Mrs Judith King from the Australian Coalition of
Services Industries.
The paper found that Australia's-science and technology base is a source of
comparative advantage. in the region, particularly when it is applied to provide
practical solutions to Asian problems. In this regard, it noted the importance of the
Government's decision to make the R& D tax concession at 150% a permanent feature
of Australia's tax regime. The opportunity for Australian exporters arc substantial and
there have already been some notable successes ( eg Australian involvement in power
-station and mining development in North Thailand).
The report considers that there is a need for governments, academia and business to
develop ail intcgratcd approach to Australian S& T investment in the region and to
enhance Australia's S& T image.
The Government's increased focus on Asia was welcomed and, as some speakers
noted, has helped Australian businesses gain access and establish links into Asia.
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Nanotechnology was the subject of a presentation by Professor Don Nicklin, Pro-Vic
-Chancellor ( Physical Sciences and Engineering), University of Queensland.
Professor Nicklin chaired a working party established by the Australian Science and
Technology Council ( ASTEC) to produce a report on nanotechnology as part of
ASTECs work program. The working party consists of senior researchers from
industry, government and higher education institutions engaged in examining the
status and potential of this new technology in Australia.
Nanotechnology is concerned with miniaturisation beyond the " micro" level, that is,
the fabrication of devices with component sizes less than 100 nanometres ( a unit of
length measuring one billionth of a metrc or a millionth of a millimetre). This is the
same order as the diameter of molecules. Nanotechnology is considered to be generic
to a wide range of industries: health care, separation technologies, mining and energy
storage, as well as communications and optoclectronics.
European countries, Japan, USA and Canada arc actively positioning themselves for
the commercialisation phase. Japan, for example, has singled out nanotechnology as
the focus of its push for world technology leadership in the 21st century. An
opportunity exists for Australia to participate in these developments. Australia has
expert capacity in govcmment and higher education laboratories to provide a basis for
realising nanotechnology's potential importance to our competitiveness in areas such
as mining, manufacturing and food processing.
A prcscntation on microengineering was given by Professor Ian Bates, Associate Dean
Rcscarch and Development, Faculty of Engineering at the Royal Melbourne Institute
of Technology ( RMIT) and Dr Ron Zmood, Principal Lecturer, Electrical Engineering,
Department of Electrical and Manufacturing Systems, RMIT.
They said that during the next decade micromachines would become as commonplace
in consumer products as the micro chip is now. Potential applications include
improvements to existing technology in medical, industrial automotive and defcnce
areas. Overscas, Japan, USA and Germany have large R& D programs underway. In
Australia, a number of companies, higher education and CSIRO researchers are
working on microengineering fields. RMIT is collaborating with Japan. These
capabilities can provide the basic resources to support the development of complete
imicromachines for exploitation by Australian industry.
Professor Ben Selinger, chair of the Independent Panel on Intractable Waste, and Dr
Bruce Coniglio from ICI Australia, presented the findings of the recently released
study on scheduled ( intractable) waste to the Council.
Their focus was on developed and developing technologies for handling such wastes
which could opcn market opportunities for Australia.
CANBERRA Monday 14 December 1992
Attached:
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Current membership of the Prime Minister's Science and Engineering Council
Copies of report on Nanotechnology are available as follows:
Nanotechnology ASTEC 06 273 4966
Report on Australian Science and Technology Opportunities and Strategies in
the Asia Pacific Region ( available from the Office of thc Chief Scientist 06
271 5462).
Microenginecring RMIT 03 660 3260.
Contact: Phillip Tardif
Minister Frec's Office
( 06) 277 7280 ( w)
( 06) 254 7383 ( h) Thu Nguyen-Hoan
Office of the Chief Scientist
( 06) 271 5209 ( w)
( 06) 292 1825 ( h)