Australian government to announce new innovation package

In his forthcoming budget, the Australian Prime Minister John Howard is set to announce a new package worth 700 million AUD (422 million euro) to kick-start industry investment in research and innovation, according to press reports. There is also speculation that an additiona...

In his forthcoming budget, the Australian Prime Minister John Howard is set to announce a new package worth 700 million AUD (422 million euro) to kick-start industry investment in research and innovation, according to press reports.

There is also speculation that an additional five billion AUD (three billion euro) will be made available for science and innovation, and that 1.5 billion AUD (0.9 billion euro) will be channelled into agricultural research.

Universities are also expected to benefit from the budget, with an expansion of the current grants and loans system designed to encourage collaboration with research agencies and industry.

Meanwhile Australia's largest IT research body, NICTA, announced its new research priorities on 4 May: wireless security and turning raw data into useable knowledge.

The priorities are in line with the Prime Minister's calls for a greater focus on research that can be easily commercialised.

NICTA laboratory director Bob Williamson said the organisation had needed to identify an area of focus in which some capability already existed, and that would provide maximum benefit to Australia.

Kraje

Australia