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TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP PRESENTATION OF THE PRIME MINISTER';S PRIZE FOR SCIENCEGREAT HALL, PARLIAMENT HOUSE
Subjects: Science, technology, innovation, CSIRO
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Thank you very much Tim, Senator Minchin, my other parliamentary colleagues, members of the Australian scientific and research community, ladies and gentlemen. It is again a very special privilege for me to be here tonight to associate myself as Prime Minister very emphatically with the contribution that scientists and researchers have made, are making, and will continue to make to every aspect of Australian life.
I think its very important for any nation if it is to mark the esteem in which it holds individuals in the community, to mark that esteem in a variety of ways. Tonight';s gathering and the prize that';s awarded in my name, or in the name of the Prime Minister of Australia whoever that person may be, and the other prizes that have been awarded earlier by Senator Minchin, they are both symbolic and also substantive recognitions of the contribution that scientists make to Australian life. And tonight';s gathering which brings together so many people who are involved in science and innovation and research, is a wonderful opportunity for me to enthusiastically thank you and to say again what a tremendous premium we in the Government place on the contribution that you make to our community.
There have been occasions in Australia';s past when we haven';t really recognised adequately the role of scientists and the role of research. And I know there';d be many in this room who might argue that the recognition is still not as great as it ought to be. That';s loosened the audience up. But I hope you might agree that over the past couple of years we have begun to see a sea change. I';ve said before at gatherings like this that for me, somebody trained in the humanities, for me the experience of chairing the Prime Minister';s Science Council has been a journey of great personal discovery and a great learning experience. And I don';t think of all the bodies I';ve chaired or been associated with in the five and a half years that I';ve been Prime Minister, none has more totally taken me from a position of certainly interest and commitment and support, but through a process of instilling me with a degree of wonderment and enthusiasm for what is involved and the enormous potential that research and scientific discovery holds for this country.
And as I look back, and I suppose its at that time of the political cycle when somebody in my position looks back as well as peers forward in hope. But I look back over the last five and a half years, I can honestly say that one of the things that I list as a very important and a very proud achievement of the Government were the things that we';ve done in the area of scientific endeavour and research. And I';m particularly conscious of the decision to double the funding of health and medical research in the 1999 Budget and the many initiatives that have flowed out of the Backing Australia';s Ability, the $3 billion programme that I announced which has been put together with the cooperation of people in the scientific and innovation community and I want to thank Nick Minchin and David Kemp and Richard Alston for the collective contribution that each of them made to the development of that policy.
And I';m particularly pleased for a moment to reflect on the fact that we didn';t just make an announcement at the beginning of the year and then leave it to the long, slow processes of government implementation. I';m very pleased that we have made a lot of progress in the time that';s gone by since the beginning of the year in implementing the announcements that I made. For example, in the area of major national research facilities, 15 facilities worth $155 million were announced last month. The legislation introducing the premium 175% R&D tax concession and the small business tax concession rebate should pass the Senate this week. The new CRC guidelines and the next CRC round with the additional $227 million in funding will be announced within the next fortnight. The details of the Innovation Access Programme were announced last month. The first round of biotechnology innovation fund grants were announced last month and the next round will be announced next week. The call for expressions of interest to operate the Biotech Centre of Excellence will be released within a fortnight. Tenders have already been called for the pre-seed fund. Additional business advisers for the COMET Programme have been appointed. Legislation to support the new post-graduate education loan scheme has passed the Senate. There';s also been a doubling of the Australian post-doctoral fellowships from 55 this year to 110 next year.
And today I was very pleased to announce with David Kemp the first 15 Federation Fellowships which have been funded through the additional money given to the ARC under the Backing Australia';s Ability Programme. These fellowships are designed to attract and retain leading researchers to Australia by paying internationally competitive salaries. And I am delighted that six of the fellowships were awarded to Australians who will be returning home from abroad to conduct their research in Australia.
So although I acknowledge that more can be done and more needs to be done, I hope that we have made a serious start. I hope that we have begun to address the deficit that was there and had been there for some years in the area of commitment to research and innovation. But more importantly than that, I hope we have brought about a change in attitude within the Australian community. I hope that what we did with the programme announced at the beginning of the year and what we do with gatherings such as this, which give us all an opportunity to honour the central role of science in both the current and future life of the nation. I hope that all of those things together send a very strong signal to the Australian community that we are not only a nation that is interested in excellence and achievement and champion performers in areas of sport and in areas of business. But we';re also people who believe very passionately that the future of this country increasingly will depend on the way in which we encourage and nurture the scientists within our midst.
And if I can… I think there';s a certain symbolism, if I can make bold to say, given the nature and the character of the Australian community that this gathering tonight and the announcement of the winner of the Prime Minister';s Science Prize should follow the awarding last night in Melbourne of the Brownlow Medal. Now I say that very deliberately because you know the role that sport occupies in the life of the Australian community. And you know of course that I have a reputation like so many of our, of we Australians, of being a great lover of sport. For me, with my football passions I would like to see tonight as a combination of the Brownlow Medal and the Bledisloe Cup.
But can I simply say that we do need in our own way to develop and exhibit the same passion for scientific performance, scientific achievement, and scientific excellence that we exhibit in relation to our sporting achievements. We need to acclaim and applaud and to salute your role in the Australian community as we do the great performers on our sporting fields.
So ladies and gentlemen, I want to say to all of you, thank you for the tremendous contribution that you make to our community. I want to thank all of the members of the Prime Minister';s Science, Innovation and Engineering Council that I';ve had the opportunity of working with over the last five and a half years. As Nick put it so well it would be for the judgement of the Australian people whether I have the opportunity of chairing another one of those gatherings. But that belongs to another day and to another event. But whatever may be the outcome of that I have regarded it as an enormous privilege. A great adventure and a great learning experience to have been associated with the work of the Australian science community.
And of course this event also provides us with an opportunity to recognise the work carried out by a great Australian institution, and that';s CSIRO, now in its 75th year. And as Senator Minchin said, the CSIRO continues to compare with the best of the best around the world and he spoke of the very privileged and very elite place it occupies within the top one percent of similar institutions around the world. And that is an enormous achievement, and it is an enormous tribute to those men and women who';ve worked over that 75 year period to build the CSIRO into that great Australian icon that it remains. And we very strongly support the renewed emphasis of the CSIRO on partnering with our universities and other research providers in underpinning very much a Team Australia approach.
And can I say tonight that I';m delighted to thank Charles Allen for his work as Chairman of CSIRO over the past years. He has done a wonderful job and I do want to endorse everything that Nick Minchin said about his contribution. And having done that I want to announce my intention of recommending to the Governor General the appointment of Mrs Catherine Livingstone as the new Chairman of the CSIRO. Ms Livingstone is the former Managing Director of Cochlear Limited, is a member of the Telstra Board, she is also on the board of Q-Vis a company producing solid state lasers for corrective eye surgery. She spent six years at Cochlear and after guiding it through public listing in a period of rapid growth in shareholder value, she left the role of Managing Director with the company in a very strong position. I believe that she will bring a very high calibre level of managerial experience in leading edge technology companies to her role as the Chairman of the CSIRO Board.
So in thanking Charles Allen, and wishing him well for the future, I congratulate Catherine Livingstone. I thank her for her contribution to the Board already, and I think she will make a first class Chairman and replacement to Charles Allen.
And finally, and most importantly of all, can I say just a few words about the recipient of the Prime Minister';s Prize for Science for this year. To Professor Donald Metcalf of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, the award of this prize recognises his outstanding achievement in an area of science that above everything else promotes human welfare. Professor Metcalf';s research into stimulating the production of blood cells has led to very significant clinical applications in areas like cancer treatment. Three million cancer patients have benefited from treatment arising directly from his work. And that figure alone is an astonishing tribute to the excellence and the dedication and the quality of his work. His work has led to the creation of a world wide billion dollar biotechnology industry which is contributing to Australia';s wealth and reputation as a leading innovator in biomedical research. The fact that his research on blood cell production has spanned four decades bears testament to the vision and commitment that he has brought to his life';s work.
I hope, amongst the many honours and recognition that he';s received in his long and very distinguished career, Professor Metcalf might see tonight';s prize as a very collective expression of admiration and gratitude and a very important salute from his country. An expression of recognition of great excellence, of great dedication, and a wonderful period of years of service to mankind in a discipline, in a profession, which ultimately has as its aim in the relief of human suffering and a contribution to greater human happiness. So I join everybody else in congratulating Professor Metcalf, in wishing him well, and above all thanking him for the contribution he';s made to the reputation of Australian science and the contribution he';s made to the relief of suffering and the curing of serious illnesses. Thank you.