Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science And Research, Senator Carr. Can the minister inform the Senate of the significance of the outcomes of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science awarded last night?

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

It is a great pleasure to recognise in this place the outstanding people we honoured last night in the Prime Minister's science prizes. These are the people who are very much the nation builders of the 21st century: Professor David Solomon and Ezio Rizzardo for reinventing the science of polymers; Professor Min Chen for finding the first new form of chlorophyll in 67 years; Professor Stuart Wyithe for shaping the agenda for the next generation of telescopes; and Dr Jane Wright and Mrs Brooke Topelberg for showing young people why those discoveries matter. We acknowledge Professor Brian Schmidt, Australia's newest Nobel Prize laureate.

Senator Ian Macdonald interjecting—

Here we hear from the knuckle draggers, who cannot even handle acknowledgment of Australia's great scientific talent. It is too much for them to give due credit to a great Australian and Nobel Prize laureate. If you want to carry on like that, Senator Macdonald, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

These people are a testament to the courage, creativity and capabilities of Australian researchers. This is a government that is very proud to back their ambition. I have called this our great compact with our research community. This is where we back them with the very best kit this country can afford and we ask them in turn to give us the wherewithal to help our people achieve the great ambitions that this nation is proud of. We want them to help us cure the sick, feed the hungry and save the planet. That is what they are up for and that is what they are capable of. It is a pity you do not come to the party on that issue.

Senator Brandis interjecting—

Lord Brandis, it is a pity you do not have more respect for the great scientific brains of this country. It is a pity you do not have more appreciation. (Time expired)

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister respond to the fact that several prize recipients were born and raised overseas, including our new Nobel laureate?

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

I regard this as a fact that ought to be celebrated. Scientists like Professor Schmidt, who was raised in Alaska and is now an Australian citizen, prove that Australia can attract and retain great scientific talent of the very highest calibre. He undertook work that could only ever be done in Australia and he is a testament to the infrastructure, the collaborations and the opportunities that we offer the global scientific community in this country. This is at the heart of our vision for Australian research, because research is very much a global business. With less than half a per cent of the world's population, we produce some three per cent of the world's new research. That is a contribution that we leverage so we are able to access the other 97 per cent and Australian scientists can stay very much at the forefront of progress. That is where we must remain if we are to bring the benefits of new technologies to Australia. (Time expired)

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.