Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Boyce for her interest in research and tertiary education in Queensland. On 9 May, our colleague, the honourable Christopher Pyne, the Minister for Education, announced a $42-million investment in ground-breaking tropical health and medical research to be conducted by James Cook University in Queensland matched by the Queensland government. Tropical diseases like Dengue fever and other emerging infectious diseases are on the rise and pose a considerable threat to Australians living in the north. This investment we make will help boost Australian research and help protect more Australians against these and other diseases.

Senator Carr has previously seen fit to object to this research on tropical health and medicine being undertaken in the tropics by James Cook University, which has strongly and effectively focused itself as one of the world's leading universities for the tropics.