In a time of biting cost-of-living challenges and economic adversity, science and innovation can set the economy on the right road for the future.
In its pre-Budget submission, the nation’s peak body for people working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has urged the Government to build a strong and resilient economy through a bold escalation of investment in wealth-generating research and development.
On behalf of the 225,000 STEM professionals it represents, STA is calling for the Government to look to the economy-driving power of science and innovation to deepen Australia’s economic complexity and safeguard the country’s future – and help us catch up to our international competitors.
“The answers to the challenges the country faces now and will face in the future can be found in science and innovation,” said STA President Professor Sharath Sriram.
“At a time of acute cost-of-living challenges, Australians also need to think about bushfire and flood-proofing our homes, how to keep our cities liveable, powering our essential energy needs while decarbonising the environment, and meeting the health and wellbeing needs of a rapidly growing and ageing population.”
“These complex challenges can only be solved if we have world-leading research breakthroughs that guide our nation’s policy choices and diversify our economy.”
“Deep investment in R&D will lead to the innovation we need and boost national productivity. It will give us the economic answers we need now and create the society we want for the future.”
STA’s pre-Budget submission calls for a Science and Technology Future Fund to strengthen our national resilience, investment in a Bench-to-Boardroom program to create Australia’s first generation of scientist-entrepreneurs, and ongoing funding for the National Indigenous STEM Professionals Network to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s participation in STEM. STA’s pre-Budget submission is available here.
Media contact: Martyn Pearce, STA: 0432 606 828
