Australasian Science, Page: 1
Saturday, 27 May 2006
Over the past decade Australia has enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom. Government coffers are awash with revenue, leading Treasurer Peter Costello to announce $37 billion in income tax cuts last month. Even with this year's largesse, a significant surplus has been forecast for the coming financial year. Past surplus forecasts have proved to be conservative, leading analysts to predict that the government's swelling kitty will be used in next year's Budget to bribe the electorate in the lead-up to the 2007 federal election.
While last month's Budget included $590 million in new funding for medical research over 4 years - a winner with the public - other areas of science were not invited to the party (see p. 13). While medical research makes voters feel good about the taxes they pay, such research needs to be underpinned by basic research in the enabling sciences. However, these have been left to wither.
Australia's expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP has been stagnant over the decade-long term of the Howard government, and has slipped to 16th in the OECD as other nations set ambitious targets. When the government's Backing Australia's Ability 2 program expires in 2011, countries like Canada will be spending twice as much as Australia according to this measure. If Australia can't invest for the future during these times of sustained prosperity, how will it do so when there is a downturn in the economy? Last month's Budget lacked the vision required to set Australia up for the decades ahead. The present commodities boom may have paid for today's tax cuts, but where will the revenue streams come from when the bust comes? Where is the vision to foster the industries of the future? A case in point is the government's trenchant support for the coal industry.
While research into "clean coal" technologies has received massive support, the lights have been turned out on several renewable energy research programs. For example, renewable energy company Roaring 40s last month halted work on wind energy projects worth $550 million because the government's 2% Mandatory Renewable Energy Target has not been increased. The target has almost been reached, and an increase is necessary to drive the young industry further. Roaring 40s recently announced a $300 million wind farm deal with China, which has a renewable energy target of 15%.
The company says the wind power industry will collapse without an extension of the MRET scheme.
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