Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Tuesday’s budget delivered a huge boost to Australian health and medical research with the allocation of an additional $905 million as a major investment in our future health, meaning national health and medical research funding will increase fivefold from $127 million in 1996 to $700 million a year in four years time.

The budget provides $500 million for research into new medical knowledge and technologies with the potential to prevent or treat disease and improve the lives of Australians. It will be part of a total of $692 million to boost research grants, fellowships and specific research agendas. This will be complemented by an investment of $213 million in infrastructure and capital works for medical research organisations.

This funding injection will kindle a high-performing, high-impact collaborative research program with direct links to the medical sector and to economic growth. As my colleague the Minister for Health and Ageing said in the other place yesterday, Australia has always punched above its weight in health and medical research, having produced no fewer than six Nobel prize winners in this area.

The Senate may be interested to know that this investment in medical research has been warmly welcomed in the community. Dr Chris Roberts, the Chairman of Research Australia, described the funding boost for research as a ‘turning point for Australia’ and applauded the government for its ‘vision and commitment’ to the health of all Australians. The Australian Society for Medical Research said of the Howard government’s commitment to medical research that ‘the federal government has demonstrated leadership and vision’.

The government has also committed an additional $500 million over four years to increase funding for health and medical research grants provided through the National Health and Medical Research Council. The government will create a new Australian health and medical research fellowships scheme to support between 50 and 65 senior research positions, at a cost of $170 million over nine years. We will also provide $22 million over four years towards establishing a national adult stem cell research centre at Griffith University. I welcome this as a very special addition for the state of Queensland.

The government will also provide $163 million in grants to medical research facilities for a variety of development and expansion projects. The funding will enable these research facilities to expand and to improve their capacity and their reputation for quality research into the causes, diagnosis and treatment of disease. This budget builds on the government’s strong record of support for medical research, including infrastructure, and underscores our view that such research is of vital importance. Today’s research will produce tomorrow’s medicines and technologies, which can bring about greater health and wellbeing for our fellow Australians. The government looks forward to learning of the great advances that our highly regarded scientific community makes through this increased support over the years to come.