Collaboration and diversity are at the heart of innovation - creativity happens where diverse perspectives intersect. AstraZeneca, as a multinational pharmaceutical company, recognises that there are vertical barriers between industry players, start-ups, and academia within Australia that need to be overcome to allow the country to fully transition to a knowledge-based economy. The key is to identify the specific drivers and barriers to collaborating which exist within each of these groups and then foster relationships that will produce a cultural change. This will take time. We sincerely hope, however, that the biomedical translation fund will help to facilitate discussions to enhance and fast track the commercialisation of medicines and devices that will make a real difference to patients. AstraZeneca has a long-term commitment to scientific leadership and collaboration and we are pleased that the government is putting in place strategies to ensure innovation remains a long-term priority. 

CSIRO is delighted to be charged with increasing its role as a bridge between industry, research and innovation. While invention can be done solo, innovation is a team sport and it takes all parts of the system to work together to increase Australia’s innovation quotient. I am confident that the opportunities in the National Innovation and Science Agenda will help improve translation of publically funded research into commercial outcomes, increase digital capability and stimulate innovation in Australia.

The TMA are delighted by the PM's passionate support of safe harbour arrangements under the new Innovation Package announced this morning. This is a critical step change for Turnaround in Australia.

As an Australian company with over 140 years of innovation in commercial explosives technology to the mining and infrastructure sectors Orica congratulates the Federal Government on a comprehensive package that supports the development of skills, investment, collaboration and commercialisation that are critical for success in a global market today.

“This package will enable Orica to build upon our partnerships with Australian based Research & Development, Education and Technical networks to continue to develop world leading customer solutions.

We are delighted to see that NCRIS – which provides the backbone of the nation’s research – is now secure. The 27 national facilities are central to the conduct of cutting-edge Australian science. But what is really refreshing is to see NCRIS funding as part of a carefully thought-out strategy that spans the whole of government.

The creation of an Innovation and Science Committee of federal cabinet is a very important move. This elevates science and innovation to the very highest levels of Government consideration, alongside the National Security Committee.

The Agenda does not include details of where the funding will come from; they will be released in coming weeks as part of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.  

We encourage the Government to make ongoing adjustments to the R&D tax concession to ensure it supports the innovation initiatives, in particular to enhance collaboration between business, universities, government and research agencies.

Measures to secure the future of research infrastructure, increase collaboration between industry and universities, boost CSIRO and start-up ventures and investors, are among 24 initiatives spanning a wide range of government departments.

The Government is to be warmly congratulated on a forward-looking agenda that delivers on our calls for a long-term, sustainable plan for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, placing it at the heart of a modern prosperous nation.

A key aspect of the package is a recognition that collaboration between universities and industry is needed to advance innovation. Universities are powerhouses of research, and of course train the next generation of scientists and engineers. But many academics have little direct experience of industry, and don't always know how to translate their expertise into commercial value. Partnerships and collaboration with industry are needed to develop those skills.

I was interested to hear the Prime Minister’s comments on risk. Researchers are very familiar with risk, because by definition the most interesting experiments or theories are those where you don't know the answer in advance. The most cutting edge research is also the riskiest. In that sense, high impact research and high impact innovation are very similar. As universities, I think we need to focus on excellence and impact - both can be achieved through innovation, as with research.

There does need to be significant cultural change for Australian research to reach its full economic potential. We have a fantastic basis in research excellence but we need to empower researchers, industry and investors to collaborate. Government can help both by funding and through creating the right policy settings to support them. This package of measures is a welcome first step in that direction

Diversity underlies innovation. This government support will enable us to grow the diverse, talented research sector that Australia needs to create, shape and maintain the innovative society we want in the future.

For scientists and research institutes around Australia, the Innovation Statement represents a watershed moment in the history of this country. The Federal Government is sending a clear message that the future prosperity of this nation is dependent on how well we can compete in a global market of technological innovation.

The significant announcement of nearly $294 million for Australia’s involvement in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project echoes the Western Australian State Government’s investment and prioritisation of radio astronomy as a key area of scientific research.

This will be the world’s largest radio telescope and the pioneering technologies and techniques developed for it will have down-to-earth benefits that will affect the lives of millions of people around the world. Plus, the SKA project has the potential to inspire our students to pursue STEM related studies and undertake careers in science, engineering, big data and other key fields.

Todays innovation statement and the investment that follows it helps to place innovation back at the centre of national policy making. We must use the innovation agenda to help build the industries and jobs of the future. We need some consensus about the critical importance that innovation policy plays in advanced economies like Australia.

Government and industry around the world are investing billions in fostering and supporting innovation. Australia must not be left behind in the innovation stakes. We must more rapidly diversify and transform Australian industry in the face of intense global competition and technological disruption.

The Business Research and Innovation Initiative will help leverage some of the local business and job benefits that can flow from public procurement.

The $250 million Biomed Translation Fund helps to break down some of the barriers to commercialization of technology in this important sector.

Continuation of NCRIS provides greater certainty for critical research infrastructure.

Boost to innovation funding through CSIRO Innovation Fund

The move to continuous ARC Linkage Grants scheme is much more responsive to industry needs than the current system of one round per year.

The new Research Support Scheme of $885m recognizes the need to support the systemic costs of research in Universities.

Business incubation infrastructure gets a much needed boost.

The Global Innovation Strategy helps connect Australians to dynamic innovation hotspots, building bridges to global investors and markets.

A new national innovation body must now fill in some of the gaps including measures to foster design led and business model innovation

The medical research sector particularly welcomes the establishment of a new $250 million Biomedical Translation Fund to expedite investment in biomedical innovation, and the $200 million CSIRO Innovation Fund to support co-investment in new spin-off and start-up companies, products and services from Australia’s research institutions.

As Prime Minister Turnbull and Minister Pyne stated, Australia’s future prosperity depends on research and innovation to compete on the international stage, to deal with complex issues and capitalise on the opportunities of the future. Nowhere is innovation more evident than in the health and medical research sector, where discoveries play a crucial role in improving our health system, helping Australians to live longer, healthier and more productive lives, reducing the burden of disease on our economy, and delivering the jobs of our future.

We know that every dollar invested in health and medical research returns at least two dollars, with many studies suggesting this rate of return is much higher. These returns come not just from marketable medical discoveries but also from innovations leading to more efficient diagnoses and treatments. The pharmaceutical and medical devices sector is Australia’s best performing smart industry and we are pleased to see the Government doing all that it can to ensure the growth of this sector in the launch of its new agenda.

The Turnbull government has established a whole of Government approach to driving innovation and capturing the potential for commercialisation of Australia's brilliant research.

This is a step change in how we drive the benefit of our nation’s ideas, small and large. The "Ideas Boom" is the boom we have to have. It differs from the mining boom which was the boom we were almost guaranteed to have, given our mineral wealth and proximity to China.

This is not a statement just about government spending significantly more directly on research and research infrastructure but it is a statement about how we dismantle the road blocks in innovation, such a risk-sapping bankruptcy laws, tax arrangements that disincentivise new investors and out-of-step visa requirements.

It is also how we drive the best possible outcomes from our university research. The funding committed to quantum computing and cyber security gives us the best possible chance that Australia's lead in this race will be successful and the associated industry will likely be established here and not overseas.

Shifting slightly our block grants and ARC funding from being based purely on research excellence to research effectiveness is necessary given the national gap between these two.

The devil in this announcement will be the detail in the implementation and the cross-ministry decision making. The establishment of the innovation and science cabinet subcommittee is a masterstroke alongside the new innovation and science council.

We have a unique opportunity. An innovative PM in Malcolm Turnbull, a committed and very experienced Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Christopher Pyne (who can round up the cross-ministry deliverables like a bull terrier), a very commercial chief scientist in Dr Alan Finkel and a well-known and highly experience VC investor, Bill Ferris, as chair.

I congratulate those in the PM’s departments and Minister Pyne’s departments who in 77 days have produced what under another government would have taken more than 77 weeks.

The Innovation Statement sends a strong message that Australia is looking ahead and preparing for an era of increased productivity, and is a welcome recognition from the Turnbull government that innovation is the key driver of that productivity. We need a culture of innovation in Australia to address the increasingly rapid cycle of disruptive technology and this policy shows that the Federal government gets it. Dramatic improvements in the standard of living globally over the last 70 years have been achieved on the back of technology-based innovation.

The Innovation Statement provides policy measures to support and drive funding, enabling capital to be freed up and invested locally in technology-development start-ups, helping them move successfully through the innovation cycle.

We are delighted by this news. Quantum computing is a transformational technology in which Australia has an international lead, and there is now an opportunity for translating this research right here in Australia.

We are thrilled not just by this announcement, but also by the genuine interest that has been shown in our work by many members of parliament. We thank the Prime Minister and Minister Pyne for their vision and strong interest in science and innovation. We are also very grateful to others particularly Senator Bridget MacKenzie who was one of the first to appreciate the importance of what we are doing.

We look forward to working with Government and Australian industry to secure this technology for Australia’s future.

Following the PMs visit to Trajan a couple of weeks ago we have been keenly awaiting the announcements made today. We believe the renewed focus on science and innovation and the long term sustainable benefits to the economy are well directed. The holistic approach being taken; impacting across the educational, commercial and government research centres is essential to drive structural change. This is a first big step in the right direction.

A major problem with innovation programs in the past has been their transience and over-engineering. Most programs and policies have only lasted 6-8 years. They disappear before industry is aware of them. Unless industry is aware of programs and policies, they will have no impact on their behaviour.

Longevity requires more than the intent of the government of the day. It requires either bi-partisan support or an Act of Parliament to ensure the program is not cancelled at the whim of a new minister or government.

We do not expect to see effects from many innovation programs, including the change to bankruptcy laws and changes in tax breaks, for 10-20 years.

What mechanism has the Government put in place to ensure, programs are long lived; and that they are monitored and evaluated so they can be improved overtime?

This new agenda represents a turning point. It means we can grow an economy based on our outstanding science, and which makes the best use of our significant scientific capital.

The Academy is delighted that the Government intends to strongly support strategic investment in Australia’s scientific research infrastructure. We also welcome the new Global Innovation Strategy which will enable Australian scientists and science to be a part of the excellent science and innovation being done around the world.

For a long time Australia has lagged behind many other countries when it comes to commercialising ideas from universities and research organisations.

With this agenda, the Turnbull Government has recognised that innovation is key to Australia’s future and that the ideas and knowledge produced by research are key to innovation. The Australian Academy of Science is excited at the prospect that this will be the beginning of long-term engagement between Government, researchers and industry.