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ACADEMY OF SCIENCE RELEASES POLICY STATEMENT FOR BUILDING A COMPETITIVE AUSTRALIA
18 November 2005
The Australian Academy of Science has released its policy statement on research and innovation in Australia.
The President of the Academy, Dr Jim Peacock, in releasing the statement, drew particular attention to the long-term nature of research and the need for sustained support for research.
Dr Peacock pointed out that Australian recipients of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, Professor Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren, identified Helicobacter pylori as a major cause for gastritis and peptic ulcers more than 20 years ago, but it took ten years before antibiotic treatment became mainstream clinical practice.
'We need to have a clear, long-term vision for the nation', said Dr Peacock, 'and attend to the areas of weakness in the national science engineering and technology (SET) environment. These weaknesses include serious and growing shortages of skills in the science and engineering fields and the low level of SET personnel in the private sector.'
The policy document makes suggestions on:
- Building a knowledge economy.
- The higher education system.
- Science and maths education.
- National research infrastructure facilities.
- Cooperative Research Centres.
- International scientific links.
The document is available at www.science.org.au/reports/10november05.pdf
