Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

To provide the quadrella of incorporations, I thank senators for their contributions to the debate and seek leave to incorporate my speech to conclude the second reading debate.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

I rise to conclude the second reading debate on the Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2006 and to thank the Senators for their contributions.

The Bill amends the Australian Research Council Act 2001 to implement changes to the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) governance arrangements in response to the Government’s endorsement of the recommendations of the Review of the Corporate Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders by John Uhrig.

The assessment of the ARC against the recommendations of the Uhrig Review found that the functions of the .ARC are best suited to the executive management template. The Bill will enhance the ARC’s governance arrangements to make it fully consistent with this template. This includes retiring the ARC Board and transferring the majority of the Board’s functions and responsibilities to the Chief Executive Officer of the ARC.

The Bill allows for the creation of, and appointments to, designated committees which will provide advice to the Chief Executive Officer.

The Chief Executive Officer will receive input on research matters directly from an Advisory Committee, which will be created as a designated committee under the amended provisions of the Act. As the Minister indicated in her second reading speech in the House, the Advisory Committee will not look at individual grant applications. It will focus on providing strategic advice on matters related to research and the operations of the ARC.

As is the case under the current ARC Act, the Minister for Education, Science and Training will continue to be responsible for approving or not approving recommendations for research funding. The College of Experts will be maintained as a designated committee, as it currently is. It will continue to play a key role in the ARC’s peer review processes, particularly through the consideration of applications for funding under the Discovery-Projects programme.

The Minister has stated publicly that she wants to be able to have faith in the independence and the integrity of the ARC’s peer review processes. The Australian National Audit Office report on the ARC’s management of research grants, released in May, stated that the ARC has a substantial peer-review process in place, with a strong focus on research merit and national benefit, enabling the ARC to select and fund high calibre research.

The College of Experts will make funding recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer, who will in turn provide the Minister with advice. This will expedite the ARC’s funding processes, provide greater certainty to researchers about the future of their ARC funding and allow the ARC to respond quickly and flexibly to emerging priorities.

The changes to the ARC indicates that the outcomes of the recommendations of the Uhrig Review are being effectively implemented by Government, ensuring clear lines of accountability from the Minister down to the agency and implementing better corporate governance in the public sector.

As announced in the 2004 $5.3 billion package, Backing Australia ‘s Ability. Building our Future through Science and Innovation, the Australian Government signalled its ongoing commitment to the role of the ARC in the national innovation system by continuing to maintain the doubling of its programme funding that was announced in 2001.

Under the package the Government committed an additional $1.5 billion over five years for the ARC to 2010-2011. This commitment reflects the value and importance to the Australian Government of funding high quality research and maintaining the integrity of the ARC.

I commend the Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2006 to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.