Australian PM Announces 1.5 Bn USD Boost
Canberra, Feb 1: Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a multi-billion dollar plan to enhance the country’s research. Morrison on Tuesday unveiled the 2.2 billion Australian dollar (1.5 billion U.S. dollar) research commercialization plan in a speech to the National Press Club.
The package includes 1.6 billion Australian dollars (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) for Australia’s Economic Accelerator, which will fund high-potential research projects in the fields of defense, space, resources technology, food and beverage, clean energy, and medical products. Another 296 million Australian dollars (209.1 million U.S. dollars) will be invested in industry-focused PhDs.
The Innovation Fund administered by national science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) will be boosted by 150 million Australian dollars (106 million U.S. dollars). Morrison said the injection of funding would make Australian research more commercially competitive.
“It will allow Australian innovators to access funding opportunities for each stage of their project provided they can continue to prove project viability and importantly, commercial potential,” he said. “We need to accelerate the forging of linkages between Australian industry and Australian university researchers. And we need to develop a new breed of research entrepreneurs here in Australia so they can create the new products and new companies and most importantly, the new jobs,” he said.
