Tim Ayres

But it's a very good place to work and it's got a very strong future.

Where we can as a government open up new opportunities, of course we're doing that.

I point to the Horizon Europe opportunity.

If you're in medical research or climate and agriculture research, food security research or defence and related technologies or energy and electrical systems, the list goes on, astronomy and space.

That opportunity to collaborate and to seek research funding and joint programs with European institutions is an enormous opportunity.

It doesn't solve the problem by itself.

And as I was suggesting to you, there are workforce issues that

of course, spring from the churn and turn that comes from competitive grants processes.

But there are other challenges there too, in workforce terms.

And I want to work with the institutions, with the trade unions in this area, with the system more broadly, to look at how we meet that workforce challenge.

That effort to work with the science sector, with the CSIRO, with our universities to

to direct research and effort into those lines of inquiry that support our national science priorities and our Future Made in Australia objectives.

Of course, that is really important work.

But it's not to say that there's also not a central role for foundational research maintaining that capability in our university systems.

and in our science agencies is important.

There will always be research that sits outside both of those lines of effort as well.

And that's important because you just don't know where that leads, what technological solutions that will offer.

So I'm, of course, emphasising the research priorities.

I want to see alignment and delivery in those areas.

But foundational research is of equal importance.