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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-06-06 Daily Xml
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SCIENCE RESEARCH

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (14:23): My question is to the Minister for Science and Information Economy. Can the minister inform the house about state government support for our scientific researchers who are starting out on their careers, particularly those in our universities and other research organisations in South Australia?

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:23): I would like to thank the member for Taylor for this very important question. There is a great deal of excellence going on in our universities and institutions. We have outstanding scientists in South Australia, people like Professor Tanya Monro at Adelaide University—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: Hear, hear—a great South Australian!

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: An outstanding South Australian—Professor Karen Reynolds from Flinders University, Professor Peter Langridge, and there is also outstanding work going on at the Centre for Cancer Biology. I visited them just recently, but when I became Minister for Science I caught up with our Chief Scientist, Professor Don Bursill—another outstanding South Australian—and we had a discussion about the challenges that early career researchers face as they embark on their careers.

He made a very important point: that it can be very challenging to establish yourself as a researcher. It is hard to get grant funding, for instance, for projects when you are competing against already established academics and, as an early career researcher, you do not always have the connections to the end users of your research—the businesses that turn your research and discoveries into products, so that commercialisation process.

So we were very keen to support and send a very strong message to early career researchers to assist them to overcome these barriers and, in fact, incentivise behaviours that would assist them to make connections. I had the pleasure just recently of attending the Early Career Researcher Network that was established by Professor Don Bursill. I had a chance to meet with a number of them and they were being addressed by Professor Tanya Munro. So, it is a very helpful and very practical network; it is a way of engaging with these early career researchers.

That is why I am very pleased to report that the state government has just awarded brand-new Catalyst Research Grants to support outstanding young researchers to work with an industry partner or projects of strategic importance to the state, and this is the incentivising kind of behaviour that we are seeking to encourage. I was delighted to present these grants to three of our excellent early career researchers. Briefly, I would like to congratulate the following: Dr Philip Visintin of Adelaide University, who will work with local industry on research into geopolymer concrete, which is a greener alternative to regular concrete.

The Hon. T.R. Kenyon: That must warm your heart.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Yes, I am a big fan of concrete. Dr Thomas Barclay—it's very important.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: It's genetic.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: It is genetic. Dr Thomas Barclay of the University of South Australia, who will work—that was an interjection made by the member for West Torrens.

The SPEAKER: I call the member for West Torrens to order.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI: Dr Thomas Barclay of the University of South Australia, who will work with South Australian biotechnology company Vaxine and Colorado State University to improve drug delivery systems that will help to treat diseases like tuberculosis. Finally, Dr Carol Maher—and this may interest all of us—from the University of South Australia, who is working with Country Health SA, the Heart Foundation and software developer Portal Australia to develop a Facebook app that is designed to encourage people to be physically active. These new grants are worth a total of $75,000 and are awarded through the Premier's Research and Industry Fund. I have to say, we had a fantastic response to this idea of this catalyst program—

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker: I think it is four minutes and five seconds now.

The SPEAKER: The member for Bragg is right again. The member for Morphett.

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