Indolent Australia's high-level R&D review will miss the target

Though Australia's said to have "led the world" in developing high quality, connected, and available, R&D infrastructure, we're also a "patchwork" with gaps. Funding for institutional, versus "national-priority", versus "landmark-global", R&D infrastructure comes from multiple sources, with limited coordination.

Commonwealth R&D sits well below the OECD standard, of 2.73% of GDP. Also, we're low on the global-index of venture-capital, proportional to GDP. Hence, casual suggestions, of re-deploying our huge super-funds, or drawing down on local "philanthropy".

Collaboration across sectors is weak. Academics don't percolate much into industry, or vice versa. Also, our workforce is deemed "not aligned" to needs of the economy, particularly STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills.

Panel, how come that's still true?

Since 2005, we've had a big increase in university participation, with technical training going backwards, and government insisting 55% of young Australians should have degrees by 2050. We've also had massive increases in immigration, purportedly to fix "skill shortages".

Before 2007, Australia had never experienced 200,000 annual net-migration. Yet 2022-25 will top 1.3 million, 70% higher than the previous one-term record. Pro-government influencers at ANU "Migration Hub" contort this into a "shortfall". Suits stakeholders.

The panel should be wondering, exactly how many years of unending local graduates and unlimited "skilled" migrants would it take, before our workforce would finally "align" with R&D?

Noting the likely effects of AI on R&D, the discussion paper usefully concludes with six international R&D reforms – US, Germany, South Korea, France, Israel and UK.

Maybe one or other will get a guernsey, in the final report. Perhaps Israel, also a "pioneering" desert nation, whose population resembles ours in size. They're a tad more energetic perhaps. No "netting" of Woodside or Santos gas to "zero" for them.

The review is compromised

Every year, government produces Budget Paper 3 and Population Statement. Where Treasury repeats their time-honoured fib, for stakeholders. Massive immigration isn't engineered - it just "happens".

Indeed, Treasurer and pro-government influencers insinuate Australia "isn't allowed" to manage immigration. That's more for UN/OECD/EU/IMF club, also our "free" trade agreements.