Tonight's Federal Budget has been described as "a little disappointing" by the Chief Executive Officer of the Cooperative Research Centres Association (CRCA) Mr Michael Hartmann.
The CRCA is the representative body for the 57 CRCs located throughout Australia.
"Our Budget Submission asked the Australian Government to show its ongoing commitment to science and innovation in Australia by clarifying the future funding arrangements for the CRC Programme."
"We hoped that this might have seen an increase in funding. The forward budgets for the CRC Programme have however remained unchanged."
"That's disappointing. The CRC Programme commenced in 1991 and we are now at the point in time where the concept has come of age. Our CRCs have proven themselves as the leading mechanism where industry and science can collaborate and focus on applied research; a breeding ground for Australian innovation" Mr Hartmann said.
A 2006 study showed that the return to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for each dollar invested in the CRC Programme is $2.16 (a return of more that 2:1) and as a result of the research, training and commercialisation activities of the CRCs, Australian GDP has been increased by nearly $2.7 billion (conservative estimate).
"2008 is a key year for this highly successful Programme. We have 22 existing CRCs eligible to apply for a rebid, plus a yet unknown number of new prospects. The simple fact is that with no change to the Programme's budget, we could see as many as 15 CRCs being forced to wind up their operations" Mr Hartmann said.
On average, the Australian Government's contribution comprises 22% of a CRCs total funding. For the 22 CRCs eligible for a 2008 rebid this comprised a total of $477 million over their 7 year term. The contribution from industry, university and research partners exceeded $2 billion.
"Hope however is not lost. We know that the Coalition are great supporters of the CRC Programme and definitely believe that science and industry must work together on innovation for the nation's future prosperity. We can only assume they have chosen to 'keep their powder dry', and we look forward to announcements in the course of the coming Federal Election", Mr Hartmann concluded.
For further information contact:
Michael Hartmann, CRCA CEO, Ph 0438 081 968
