Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

AUSTRALIAN SYNCHROTRON: FUNDING
Wednesday, 1 June 2011 COUNCIL 1643
The Baillieu government’s failure to fund the
Australian Synchrotron puts its future and Victoria’s
reputation as a state of excellence in science and
innovation at risk. It may also undermine our
attractiveness for overseas companies looking to invest
in Victorian manufacturing and establish new
enterprises here. Despite the immediate pressure on our
manufacturing industry from the changing value of the
Australian dollar, which is making our exports more
expensive and our imports cheaper, the Baillieu
government ignored the opportunity presented by last
month’s budget to provide a serious policy response to
the competitive strains put on Victorian manufacturers
by the current high value of the Australian dollar.
The Victorian manufacturing industry is heavily reliant
on our competitive advantage in high-tech
manufacturing. The sector invests 43 per cent of total
Victorian expenditure on research and development.
That is all at risk now, yet regardless of current and
future opportunities for advanced manufacturing
through the operation of the synchrotron, the Baillieu
government decided to stop funding it. Just like that,
out of nowhere.
Mr Barber interjected.
Mr SOMYUREK — I do not think so, Mr Barber. I
think the government just happened to land on the
synchrotron.
The previous Labor governments worked hard to
establish Victoria as the high-tech capital of Australia.
This high-tech capability has facilitated the
development of viable and competitive new
manufacturing processes and capacities in the Victorian
manufacturing sector at the same time as it has faced
increased competition from countries with low labour
costs and significant government support for industry.
Its failure to fund the synchrotron shows that the
Baillieu government simply does not understand
modern manufacturing or how to help our
manufacturers access new global opportunities using
the very latest technologies. The Baillieu government
does not understand that governments have a
responsibility to help industry build domestic and
international competitiveness through the attraction of
investment and the provision of support for research
and development, innovation and technological
transfer.
The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mr Ramsay) —
Order! Being a sheep farmer I got quite excited during
Mr Somyurek’s speech. I thought he was going to
suggest that the ugg boot was the icon of the
manufacturing industry.
Mr ONDARCHIE (Northern Metropolitan) — I
rise today to oppose Mr Somyurek’s motion. He was
right in one aspect of his discussion — that it is all
about the numbers. It is interesting to note that the
Labor Party takes this so seriously, but who among the
Labor members of this house was here to listen to
Mr Somyurek’s speech today? There were zero
members of the Labor Party here. It is all about the
numbers. Such is the importance of their view about
this matter.
The Australian Synchrotron — just so we know what
the correct pronunciation is — was launched in July
2007. The former government contributed $157 million
to fund the synchrotron machine and the building that
housed it. Partners committed $50 million to fund the
beamline and the commonwealth government provided
a further $14 million. The total cost to build the
Australian Synchrotron was $220 million, which was
$63 million more than the original estimate. We are
seeing a pattern here.
The Australian Synchrotron has a dual board structure,
with assets held by the Australian Synchrotron Holding
Company, and the operational company is the
Australian Synchrotron Company. Mrs Catherine
Walter, AM, is the current chair of the Australian
Synchrotron Company and was appointed by the
former Victorian government in November 2007 for a
five-year term.
In its 2007–08 budget the commonwealth committed
$50 million towards the cost of running the Australian
Synchrotron in its first five years of operation, subject
to the explicit requirement that Victoria provide
matching funds. These funds are held in a dedicated
trust that is managed by the Victorian government. The
New Zealand government, as Mr Somyurek pointed
out, contributes $750 000 per annum towards the
synchrotron’s operating costs. That funding envelope
concludes in June 2012.
Interestingly the commonwealth government in its
budget for the fiscal year 2011–12 did not commit
future funding for the Australian Synchrotron. In an
interview broadcast on 20 May, Senator Kim Carr, the
federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and
Research, indicated that the commonwealth would seek
to change the governance structure of the Australian
Synchrotron as a condition of additional
commonwealth funding. He observed that the
commonwealth government does not currently have a
seat on the board and has no capacity to influence the