I thank those opposite for their contribution to the debate today, and I want to assure them that the government remains committed to dedicated support services to help Australian SMEs navigate the patent system and establish a strong intellectual property portfolio. Those few small and medium enterprises that regularly use innovation patents will receive support and services to help ensure they are not negatively affected. Importantly, it will make the system less complex and ensure that second-tier patents aren’t being used inappropriately by big business.
During the course of the debate tonight, there were a number of issues raised by those opposite. I don’t intend to address every single one of those issues, but what I can do is, firstly, assure the House that this government is committed to making sure that Australia is an innovative nation. We are committed to making sure government plays a role in that but also that businesses play a role, because what is clear is that business investment in research and development has declined; it’s not where it needs to be. We are calling on businesses to look at what they are doing with research and development and look at opportunities to expand, to work closely with our science agencies, including CSIRO, and also to work with our universities. What we do need to make sure of so that Australia becomes an innovative nation is that industry and researchers are working very closely together.
Both I and the education minister, Dan Tehan, are committed to making sure that we are engaging with our researchers and our research organisations and that we are doing all that we can to promote engagement between industry and researchers. We already have in place many programs that do support that engagement. We have the CRCs, we have the CRCPs, we have industry growth centres, and we have many programs that are designed to make sure that there is a commitment from our businesses to growing research and development in this country and also innovation.
What is important to note, though, is that many enterprises—in particular our medium and larger businesses—engage in innovation that is outside traditional research and development but is important. It’s generally referred to as non-R&D innovation, so those engaged in businesses would understand clearly what I am saying. What is important is that we don’t just look at what is happening through the benefits of the research and development tax incentive but that we look at the innovation that’s happening every single day in almost every single business right across Australia, whether that is looking at a new system, a new procedure, new material or a new way of marketing their particular product. This is all innovation. It is all development of the products of their services.
We need to encourage that rather than become a country of people who do nothing but put down those that are trying to have a go. This government is committed to supporting those businesses taking very proactive action in the innovation space, whether that is in traditional R&D or whether it is the non-R&D innovation.
The other issue that I would like to speak about is science, technology, engineering and maths. Everyone in this place knows how committed I am to encouraging young students to study science and maths at school and to pursue STEM careers as an option. We are well aware that the number of students studying higher level maths is declining right across Australia. That’s not a new phenomenon and it’s also not a phenomenon that’s restricted to Australia. When I speak to my counterparts in many other nations around the world, they are also experiencing issues in attracting enough people to study science and maths. We have some unique issues in Australia, and a lot of it is within our education system where students are encouraged to take the subjects that are going to result in them getting the highest entry score for university in year 12. What I’m committed to doing is to change the narrative so that our young people understand that 75 per cent of the jobs of the future will require those STEM skills. They shouldn’t be selling themselves short when they are at school. They should be studying maths, they should be studying higher level maths and the science subjects, and looking at the careers. Now, it may not be that they become scientists and work at a bench, but there will be opportunities for them to use those STEM skills that they have acquired at school almost each and every day as they enter the workforce. It is a significant issue. The former chief scientist, Professor Ian Chubb was particularly engaged on how to address these issues.
This government has committed considerable funding to make sure that girls, in particular, are given an opportunity to study science, technology, engineering and maths. We are very committed to making sure we increase those numbers. As an engineer myself, the unfortunate thing was that at the time I graduated many years ago, I was one of two girls in a class of about 25 to 30 students. We actually were the first girls to graduate in mechanical engineering from the Queensland University of Technology. Many years later, whilst there are some changes in a number of the engineering disciplines, overall the figures are not where they need be for women and there is no reason why women should not be studying science and maths and undertaking STEM careers. So I acknowledge that there is more work to be done, but I will say very clearly that, as a government, we are absolutely committed to addressing where we have skill shortages. To do that, we need to make sure that we are encouraging people to study science and maths at school and I will continue to work to make sure that that happens. I commend the bill to the House.