Federal Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic has reaffirmed the important need to lift Australia’s private and public investment in research and development in a National Press Club speech.
Husic said Australia's R&D investment has fallen behind other developed nations, with the country's investment in R&D plummeting to nearly half the OECD average over the past 15 years. He said while small to medium enterprises contribute significantly to business R&D, larger firms are not pulling their weight, and their contribution needs to increase.
The government has commissioned a strategic examination of the Australian R&D system led by chair of Tesla Robyn Denholm to assess how to maximize the value of R&D investments, strengthen industry linkages, and support national priorities.
Pictured at the event are (from left) ASI chief executive Mark Cain, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Andrew McKellar and Cement Concrete and Aggregates chief executive officer Michael Kilgariff.
.png?variant=HalfWidth)