b'Canberra observed Canberra observedcan create new products and services,easily be valued in dollar terms, but we create jobs and lift productivity inknow that these factors make massive businesses. contributions to our social wellbeing.I would have thought that the size ofIn the context of the percentage of GDP the Australian economy is a crucialAustralia spends on research (1.79%), factor, but this is not counted asthe additional $200M per year is small. significant. To catch up with the OECD average investment (2.31%) we would have to The bottom line is that $2.276B ofincrease our investment by about 0.52 new Australian Government fundingpercent of GDP or a rather large $7B over 11 years will be devoted toperyear. Not a good lookwe should be commercialisation of research. This is adoing better.David Denham AMgood step forward.Associate Editor for Government Science & Technology Australia (STA)Geoscience Australia building up denham1@iinet.net.auwasted no time in taking advantage offor sale againthe governments new commitment.The Geoscience Australia building The big push to commercialise theIts President, Mark Hutchinson, gavewas funded by the Commonwealth a very persuasive talk in early March results from university research at the National Press Club, using hisgovernment and completed in Centre of Excellence in NanoscaleDecember 1997, with Geoscience First it was the Prime Minister, who saidBioPhotonics (CNBP) as an exampleAustralia occupying the building in in his address to the Business Council ofof what can be achieved. He claimedJanuary 1998.Australia on 19 November 2020: that he was able to leverage an initial investment of $23M into creating 16It has been put on the market by German We want to provide a platform and ainvestment manager Real I.S., which pathway for our talented researchersstart-ups with a combined marketbought it for $234M in late 2006. This will to partner with you, with businessescapitalisation of $519M over a seven- be the third time it has been sold, and it all around the country and to applyyear period. Using CCNBP as anis expected to fetch $360M or more when their intellectual firepower as researchexample, he argued that if just fiveit goes on sale to an international market entrepreneurs. percent of the innovators backed byin April.the new scheme are successful on the Then it was Stuart Roberts (Actingscale of CNBP, then the new fund wouldIt has a net annual income of $26M and Minister for Education and Youth)have paid for itself. is 100 per cent leased to Geoscience who in December 2021 ordered theAustralia.Australian Research Council to allocateI get the feeling that the drive and energy 70% of all Linkage Grants to be alignedof Mark Hutchinson is quite exceptional,What a stuff up. The government sold a with future economic developmentand his talents are not spread as widelybuilding housing a national institution (commercialisation). as we would like throughout the sciencewith unique laboratories to international and technology sector. investors soon after it was completed. It This was followed in February 2022 by ais inviting international interests to buy University Research CommercialisationScience & Technology Australia (STA)it again.and Package and Action Plan. Thisis Australias peak body in science and document has one of the highest ratiostechnology. It represents more than 80 000We have already sold a major port and of irrelevant pictures to information thatscientists and technologists. major shares in our electricity network to I have ever seen (https://www.dese.gov. overseas entities.au/university-research-commercialisation- Its mission is to advance the public good package/resources/university-research- and social and community welfare, andWhats next? Sell the War Memorial or the commercialisation-action-plan). strengthen civil society, through education,National Library?outreach and programs.However, if you scroll past the pictures,Mineral exploration investment it is well worth the read. It argues thatIt aims to advance the impact of science although Australia produces world- and technology to help solve some ofpowers aheadleading foundational research, wehumanitys greatest challenges, includingAlthough the December Quarter currently underperform in achievingsaving and improving lives. numbers fell, the steady upward trend in commercialisation outcomes. The emphasis on making profits fromthe investment for mineral exploration This limits the economic impact of ourresearch has never been emphasised sosince 2016 continued throughout 2021 universities and shrinks the return onstrongly. (https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/investment from publicly funded research. industry/mining/mineral-and-petroleum-The public good and community welfareexploration-australia/dec-2021). The Too often, research that could be used toresearch should not be undertakendecline in the December quarter applied benefit our economy and communities isto make a profit. Human curiosity andto the three main commodities, coal, not taken through to innovations whichour search for new knowledge cannotgold, and iron ore. Figure 1 shows the APRIL 2022 PREVIEW 24'