Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) | Hansard source

A century ago, Australian science was at an inflection point. Australia was, as then Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce said, a land of 'splendid opportunities and difficult problems'. Today, we still face both. The world of the 2020s is more volatile and more uncertain than it was in recent decades. We've weathered a global pandemic, floods and fire, and, just this week, we are witnessing the arrival of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Public science is the bedrock of grappling with some of these great national challenges.

One hundred years on, as the CSIRO marks its centenary this week, Australian scientific and industrial excellence is more important than ever. From the invention of plastic banknotes to fast, wireless connectivity, the CSIRO has been central to Australia's spirit of innovation. The talent and creativity of our scientists will be crucial to meeting today's uncertainties. That's why the Albanese government has committed an additional $387.4 million to support research and development through the CSIRO in addition to the around $1 billion that is spent every year by the Australian government to secure the bedrock of our applied science and industrial research. Additional funding for the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness is boosting our agricultural resilience and is so critical now, as the nation confronts the spectre of the H5N1 bird virus. Together, this is how we build a more resilient Australia—by backing our scientists and working together to solve our great national challenges.