The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr, today announced funding of $243 million for world-class collaborative research and innovation under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program.
Ten CRCs have been successful in the 11th selection round. This round follows the release of Powering Ideas which outlines the Government’s Innovation Agenda for the next 10 years.
“The Government is highly committed to supporting innovation and promoting collaboration between research agencies and end-users. The research undertaken by these CRCs will deliver significant social, environmental and economic benefits to Australia,” Senator Carr said.
“This significant investment by the Australian Government will support critical work in areas of climate change and Indigenous health. The CRCs will also support our small and medium enterprises and provide them with technological advances to ensure they remain competitive in the tough economic times.”
The successful grants include:
• $20.1 million to the CRC for Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems – focuses on the world’s understanding of climate change in relation to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, which is critical to our understanding of global warming.
• $25.5 million for the Aboriginal Health CRC – will contribute to closing the gap in Indigenous health by addressing identified priorities and the needs of the end-users in the Aboriginal health sector.
• $31.6 million for the ORAL Health CRC – will work to reduce the prevalence and cost of oral disease in Australia and identify links between dental and general health.
• $17.5 million to establish a new CRC in Energy Pipelines – will enable Australia to meet the increased demand for gas transportation arising from the need to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
• $28 million to establish the Deep Exploration CRC – will focus on developing new technologies to drill faster, cheaper, deeper and safer to address increasingly high production costs and low mineral exploration success achieved to date in Australia.
In addition, the Government announced in the May Budget that the Bushfire CRC will receive an additional $15 million over three years from 2010 to tackle specific research tasks arising from the experience of the Victorian bushfires.
“Following the devastating Victorian bushfires, there is an urgent need to address the outcomes of the Royal Commission. The Bushfire CRC is well placed to bring together university and public sector researchers with industry to collaborate on research and development projects associated with bushfires,” Senator Carr said.
Established by the Hawke Labor Government in 1990, the CRC Program remains the Government’s premier program for establishing long-term collaborative partnerships. These partnerships are critical in addressing Australia’s innovation needs and delivering social, environmental and economic outcomes for all Australians.
Details of the successful applicants, including the funding offered, are in the attached fact sheet.
Media contacts: Catriona Jackson, Minister's Office, 0417 142 238
Stella Morahan, Department, 02 6213 7528, 0412 340 586