Published Wednesday, 08 August, 2007 at 10:26 AM
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
BLUEPRINT FOR BUILDING A SMARTER FUTURE
Queensland science was put under the microscope today when Minister for State Development John Mickel released a publication that will help build a smarter future for Queensland.
Written by Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Peter Andrews and released at Science in Parliament 2007, the paper explores ways in which Queensland can focus its investment in research and development (R&D) on opportunities that will benefit the economy, the environment and the community.
“Through our industries, universities, government departments and public sector research organisations, Queensland invests more than $2 billion on R&D every year, so it’s important we ensure that investment is spent wisely,” Minister Mickel said.
He said the paper, titled Queensland Science: Building a Smarter Future, identified strategies to help us deal with some of the biggest challenges facing Queenslanders.
“For instance, the proportion of Queenslanders over the age of 65 is expected to double to 25 percent of the population by 2050,” Mr Mickel said.
“Given that healthcare expenditure per person for our seniors is on average four times greater than younger people, maintaining healthy communities will be a major challenge for our State.
“But if we focus our social R&D on the prevention of chronic disease and direct our medical research towards its early detection and treatment, we can reduce the incidence of chronic disease while keeping healthcare costs low.”
Professor Andrews said R&D was the key to making Queensland’s big industries smarter and its smart industries bigger.
“The competitiveness of leading global economies is based on knowledge intensive industries driven by innovation and R&D,” Professor Andrews said.
“And while Queensland firms are an innovative bunch, currently only about 30% of our added economic value is due to knowledge intensive industries, compared to 40% to 45% in leading Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations.”
Professor Andrews said R&D employed around one in every hundred Queensland workers.
“The quality of Queensland research is among the best in the world, yet our State’s R&D efforts amount to just 0.13% of global expenditure on R&D,” he said.
“This paper is about making sure we get the biggest bang for our R&D buck by focusing research on areas that will deliver economic, social and environmental outcomes.”
Science in Parliament is an annual bi-partisan event that brings Members of Parliament together with the science and innovation communities to discuss important issues impacting on Queensland’s future.
Themed Celebrating Success in Queensland Science, this year’s event involved scientists and innovators whose work has generated real outcomes for Queenslanders.
Queensland Science: Building a Smarter Future is available online at www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au.
Ministerial contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
Queensland Chief Scientist contact: Kate Haggman 3235 4346
8 August, 2007
Written by Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Peter Andrews and released at Science in Parliament 2007, the paper explores ways in which Queensland can focus its investment in research and development (R&D) on opportunities that will benefit the economy, the environment and the community.
“Through our industries, universities, government departments and public sector research organisations, Queensland invests more than $2 billion on R&D every year, so it’s important we ensure that investment is spent wisely,” Minister Mickel said.
He said the paper, titled Queensland Science: Building a Smarter Future, identified strategies to help us deal with some of the biggest challenges facing Queenslanders.
“For instance, the proportion of Queenslanders over the age of 65 is expected to double to 25 percent of the population by 2050,” Mr Mickel said.
“Given that healthcare expenditure per person for our seniors is on average four times greater than younger people, maintaining healthy communities will be a major challenge for our State.
“But if we focus our social R&D on the prevention of chronic disease and direct our medical research towards its early detection and treatment, we can reduce the incidence of chronic disease while keeping healthcare costs low.”
Professor Andrews said R&D was the key to making Queensland’s big industries smarter and its smart industries bigger.
“The competitiveness of leading global economies is based on knowledge intensive industries driven by innovation and R&D,” Professor Andrews said.
“And while Queensland firms are an innovative bunch, currently only about 30% of our added economic value is due to knowledge intensive industries, compared to 40% to 45% in leading Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations.”
Professor Andrews said R&D employed around one in every hundred Queensland workers.
“The quality of Queensland research is among the best in the world, yet our State’s R&D efforts amount to just 0.13% of global expenditure on R&D,” he said.
“This paper is about making sure we get the biggest bang for our R&D buck by focusing research on areas that will deliver economic, social and environmental outcomes.”
Science in Parliament is an annual bi-partisan event that brings Members of Parliament together with the science and innovation communities to discuss important issues impacting on Queensland’s future.
Themed Celebrating Success in Queensland Science, this year’s event involved scientists and innovators whose work has generated real outcomes for Queenslanders.
Queensland Science: Building a Smarter Future is available online at www.chiefscientist.qld.gov.au.
Ministerial contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784.
Queensland Chief Scientist contact: Kate Haggman 3235 4346
8 August, 2007