❓ Question regarding details of the recently announced $20 million innovation package. The Minister outlines plans for an innovation summit, support for existing programs, and a focus on not 'picking winners'.
AnsweredQoN 289Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
INNOVATION FUNDING
289. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the Minister for
Innovation:
I acknowledge the students from
Canning Vale Primary School in the electorate of the member for Southern River
who are in the public gallery today.
Can the new Minister for Innovation
please provide the house further detail on the recently announced $20 million
innovation package?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
289. Mr M.H. TAYLOR to the Minister for
Innovation:
I acknowledge the students from
Canning Vale Primary School in the electorate of the member for Southern River
who are in the public gallery today.
Can the new Minister for Innovation
please provide the house further detail on the recently announced $20 million
innovation package?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
AnswerView source ↗
Before I answer the question, on
behalf of the member for Warren–Blackwood I acknowledge the students
from Manjimup Primary School.
Dr
A.D. Buti : Did you live there, also?
Mr
W.R. MARMION : Yes.
In 1977, as a young engineer, I travelled
to Manjimup Primary School at eight o'clock in the morning to assess
its school crossing, and it was pleased to know that it could keep it!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Willagee! Minister, you are becoming a veritable Phileas Fogg! Just
come back to the point, please.
Mr W.R. MARMION : I
thank the member for Bateman and congratulate him on his new role as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Innovation.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : That
is enough! Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the first time. Member
for Girrawheen, I do not want to hear from you.
Mr W.R. MARMION : I
look forward to working with the member for Bateman, the Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister for Innovation, to drive innovation and create more jobs and
economic growth in Western Australia, and also improve productivity in the
public service and provide greater access to the public service for consumers.
As part of the budget, the Treasurer kindly provided $20 million over the next
four years to promote innovation in Western Australia and support an industry
that is very strong in Western Australia. In fact, we have greater investment
in innovation per capita than any other state in Australia, but we still
languish behind countries such as New Zealand, which is a shame, Britain and
the United States of America. We aim to drive innovation and support our
thriving innovative business community to get it to a higher level, creating
more jobs and economic growth in Western Australia. We already have significant
investment in innovation in Western Australia through the Cisco Internet of
Everything Innovation Centre out at Curtin University, and the Australian
Energy Resources Growth Centre has a headquarters in Perth. Everyone knows
about the Square Kilometre Array project, in which there has been massive
investment by this state and the commonwealth government. The Pawsey
Supercomputing Centre—which has the fastest computer in the Southern Hemisphere—drives
and supports a lot of our innovation throughout WA. What are we going to do
with the $20 million? The $20 million is a commitment by our government to support
the investment we already have in innovation. The first thing we will do is
have an innovation summit to bring together all the players, the investors and
the businesses, and we will fine-tune where best this $20 million will go—the
best support. One thing we will not do is pick winners. We will not be picking
winners, so the $20 million will go into investing in supporting this very
important industry. We will have scholarship programs; we will be supporting
Unearth, GovHack, HackED and those sorts of innovative programs that are run on
weekends, and we probably will look at giving more significant prizes for those
innovations that support our consumers in Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
Mr W.R. MARMION :
The Innovator of the Year awards will continue to be supported and the
innovation people who are currently in the Minister for Commerce's
section will come over to work with me and with my Government Chief Information
Officer. The Government Chief Information Officer will be driving this package
and I look forward to coming back to this house to give members a strategy of
what we will be doing over the next few months.
behalf of the member for Warren–Blackwood I acknowledge the students
from Manjimup Primary School.
Dr
A.D. Buti : Did you live there, also?
Mr
W.R. MARMION : Yes.
In 1977, as a young engineer, I travelled
to Manjimup Primary School at eight o'clock in the morning to assess
its school crossing, and it was pleased to know that it could keep it!
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Willagee! Minister, you are becoming a veritable Phileas Fogg! Just
come back to the point, please.
Mr W.R. MARMION : I
thank the member for Bateman and congratulate him on his new role as
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Innovation.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : That
is enough! Member for Warnbro, I call you to order for the first time. Member
for Girrawheen, I do not want to hear from you.
Mr W.R. MARMION : I
look forward to working with the member for Bateman, the Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister for Innovation, to drive innovation and create more jobs and
economic growth in Western Australia, and also improve productivity in the
public service and provide greater access to the public service for consumers.
As part of the budget, the Treasurer kindly provided $20 million over the next
four years to promote innovation in Western Australia and support an industry
that is very strong in Western Australia. In fact, we have greater investment
in innovation per capita than any other state in Australia, but we still
languish behind countries such as New Zealand, which is a shame, Britain and
the United States of America. We aim to drive innovation and support our
thriving innovative business community to get it to a higher level, creating
more jobs and economic growth in Western Australia. We already have significant
investment in innovation in Western Australia through the Cisco Internet of
Everything Innovation Centre out at Curtin University, and the Australian
Energy Resources Growth Centre has a headquarters in Perth. Everyone knows
about the Square Kilometre Array project, in which there has been massive
investment by this state and the commonwealth government. The Pawsey
Supercomputing Centre—which has the fastest computer in the Southern Hemisphere—drives
and supports a lot of our innovation throughout WA. What are we going to do
with the $20 million? The $20 million is a commitment by our government to support
the investment we already have in innovation. The first thing we will do is
have an innovation summit to bring together all the players, the investors and
the businesses, and we will fine-tune where best this $20 million will go—the
best support. One thing we will not do is pick winners. We will not be picking
winners, so the $20 million will go into investing in supporting this very
important industry. We will have scholarship programs; we will be supporting
Unearth, GovHack, HackED and those sorts of innovative programs that are run on
weekends, and we probably will look at giving more significant prizes for those
innovations that support our consumers in Western Australia.
Several members interjected.
Mr W.R. MARMION :
The Innovator of the Year awards will continue to be supported and the
innovation people who are currently in the Minister for Commerce's
section will come over to work with me and with my Government Chief Information
Officer. The Government Chief Information Officer will be driving this package
and I look forward to coming back to this house to give members a strategy of
what we will be doing over the next few months.
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