Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. The biosecurity CRC’s application is a matter that was dealt with by an independent committee of the CRC, just as it was under your government. The assessment of the quality of the biosecurity CRC’s application was of course undertaken independently of government, and I am advised that the CRC bid was not of high enough quality to earn another round of funding. I am also advised that a number of key potential partners such as AQIS and Australian Customs were not part of the bid. So I would caution senators against taking simplistic views on this matter. This CRC program is highly competitive, and opposition senators would of course be the first to scream blue murder if it were suggested that the government had intervened in the selection process. However, it is wrong to assume that the biosecurity CRC, as it is currently known, is the only way in which the government addresses critical national biosecurity issues. That position is plain wrong.