Ed Husic, Time to reverse the R&D slide, Australian Financial Review, 2 December 2024
I encourage everyone with an interest in our long-term prosperity to engage with the review of the system so we get the best possible recommendations.
When a massive bomb ripped through the Sari club in Bali in 2002, 88 Australians died in a tragedy that would leave a lasting scar on our national consciousness.
But during one of our darkest hours, the work of Australian plastic surgeon Dr Fiona Wood brought a glimmer of hope. A decade before that fateful night, she had begun patiently working on a revolutionary way to treat burns.
When a massive bomb ripped through the Sari club in Bali in 2002, 88 Australians died in a tragedy that would leave a lasting scar on our national consciousness.
But during one of our darkest hours, the work of Australian plastic surgeon Dr Fiona Wood brought a glimmer of hope. A decade before that fateful night, she had begun patiently working on a revolutionary way to treat burns.
The “Recell” product that her research created, spray-on skin cells that dramatically promote healing, allowed her to deliver life-saving treatment to more than 20 victims of the bombing.
She would go on to become Australian of the Year in recognition of her pioneering work.
Dr Wood’s successful commercialisation of her Recell technology meant that when our country was at its lowest, Australian know-how and products were there to help.
Her work is a powerful demonstration of the importance of research and development to our society and our economy.
Yet, our performance in research and development is going backwards.
If a national economic indicator – that’s a guide to future prosperity – was wilting, action would be normally taken quick smart. Unless of course, that indicator is this country’s investment in R&D.
Astoundingly we haven’t seriously examined our approach to R&D in 20 years. And what’s happened over that time?
Our national investment into R&D has dropped. And dropped. And dropped some more.
Today Australia’s investment in R&D sits at a measly 1.68 per cent of gross domestic product. Twenty years ago, that number was 2.24 per cent. We’re well behind the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average.
And the complexity of our economy – an important measure of our ability to make a diverse range of things – isn’t really all that complex. In fact, we rank 93rd of the countries tracked by the Harvard Atlas of Economic Complexity.
Since 2000, we’ve fallen 33 places. That decline threatens to sap our long-term economic strength and spoil our ability to create more success stories like Dr Wood’s Recell product.
It also represents an unacceptable disconnect with our performance as a global scientific powerhouse. Despite representing just 0.33 per cent of the global population, we produce 7.3 per cent of the world’s most highly cited scientific publications.
We have the smarts. We just need to transform them into products and services.
The slide needs to stop, and we’re taking the first step to tackle this issue.
Instead of throwing money at the problem, we want an evidence-based path to future economic strength.
Instead of finger-pointing and blame-shifting, we want to bring together Australian minds across business and academia to work as one in the national long-term interest.
We’re announcing Robyn Denholm, known to many as the chair of Tesla and former chief technology officer at Telstra, to lead a four-person panel that will do an extensive review of the system.
She will be joined by three well-respected Australians including Dr Wood, who has continued her work commercialising medical research in the years since the Bali bombing. They will be joined by former chief scientist Ian Chubb and the head of LaunchVic, Kate Cornick, who shares their deep passion for commercialising Australian ideas.
Their remit is deliberately broad because this is a moment we must seize for the good of future generations.
The terms of reference we released ask the panel to look at what’s holding us back, and opportunities, such as better collaboration between our universities and industry.
I have asked them to come up with detailed recommendations to remove those barriers so we uplift our R&D intensity, with a report date set for the end of next year.
I encourage everyone with an interest in our long-term prosperity to engage with the process so we get the best possible recommendations.
Australia’s greatest export is know-how, our scientists, and researchers, our innovators and entrepreneurs. Backing them so they can keep contributing to our economy makes good economic sense.
It’s in all of our interests, and the national interest.
See also: A rare opportunity to shape the R&D system so it is working for Australians
