Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I rise to take note of the Australian Research Council strategic plan under section 43 of the Australian Research Council Act 2001. I think it behoves all Australians to place some emphasis on the issue of research, especially research and development. As I indicated in my previous contribution, the amount of research and development that is undertaken in the vehicle and component sector around the world provides high-paid, high-quality and high-skilled jobs—something which this government does not care about.

Research is part of the scientific process of ensuring that Australia can match it with the rest of the world—that we are simply not a quarry, simply not a farm and simply not a tourist destination. Yet we have a government that is not interested in manufacturing jobs. We have an industry minister who has been gagged by the extremists in the coalition. We have an industry minister who does not understand or care about jobs in regional Australia based on manufacturing and engineering. It seems to me that, if we are ever to be a nation that can proudly take our place as an advanced economy, we will need to change things quickly. And I suppose the only we can do that is to change the government.

How can the government talk about how it is going to take this country forward if it does not have a minister for science? Where are the basics of research done? The basics of research are done in the scientific community. Scientists look at these things that are used by the manufacturing sector and the rural sector. How many scientific advances have been made that have helped people become more productive and more efficient in the agricultural sector and many, many industries? Yet this is a government that cannot even deem to have a minister for science. It seems to me absolute nonsense that that can happen.

We have a government that argue that we have to deal with all these manufacturing problems, but, unless you have strong research, you are not going to make a difference to future capacity for this country to engage internationally. One of the research arguments that they are putting up is that we should put a $7 GP tax on ordinary Australians to fund research in the medical area. How much of a nonsense is it that you would put a tax on people going to the doctor to fund scientific research? You either stand for scientific research and you fund it or you do not—you do not make up this nonsense where you penalise ordinary Australians every time they go to the doctor. Every time they go to the doctor, the Treasurer's hand is in their pocket. Every time they go to the doctor he takes $7 out.

There was supposed to be a budget emergency. Does it go into the budget? Of course, it does not—because we know there is no budget emergency. We know this was the rhetoric, spin and lies of the coalition prior to the last election. We know that people do not trust the coalition. We know that the hand of the Treasurer is going to be in their pocket. The Prime Minister will be in the right-hand pocket and the Treasurer will be in the left-hand pocket. They will each take $3.50 out every time someone goes to the doctor in this country. It is an absolute nonsense.

We do need research, but we do not do it at the expense of sick Australians. We do not do it at the expense of poor Australians. We do not do it at the expense of people who need to get to a doctor. It is so much nonsense—and the government wants to implement a paid parental leave scheme that will give some of the richest people in this country $50,000 a year. How much nonsense is that! This is a government that is reprehensible, a government that has lied and a government that needs to get its act together. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.