12 August 2024

The following are remarks prepared for delivery by Dr Cathy Foley on Monday 12 August at the launch of the National Science and Research Priorities at the ANU Research School of Chemistry.

Leading a national conversation on behalf of the government to refresh the National Science and Research Priorities has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my time as Australia’s Chief Scientist.  

Through this process I had the opportunity to talk directly to hundreds of Australians from every state and territory, including from regional areas, about what they wanted for the future of this country.

I was struck by the remarkable consensus in the viewpoints expressed from right across the country, and the consistency in what people wanted from science and technology for the future.

Australians want a country that protects our unique environment. Australians want a country that moves quickly to clean energy in a way that creates new industries and maintains prosperity. Australians want a country that elevates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems and sees Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people leading on issues that affect their lives. Australians want everyone to have access to advanced healthcare no matter where they live. And we want a country that protects the strength of our democracy. 

I am confident that the priorities being released today accurately depict the things that I heard matter most to Australians.  

The science priorities are not everything, of course. They are not designed to describe all the important and impactful science and research that Australians are involved in.

It’s important to emphasise that blue-skies research – work focused on fundamental science questions and new areas of discovery where the outcome is not obvious at the time – remains essential to Australia’s science and research system. Without fundamental research, nothing else can follow.

But what these priorities do is form a vision for what we need to do over the next decade to become the country we want to be.

I’m also pleased to see the science statement, which complements the science and research priorities. It puts science at the heart of everything we do, which is especially important as we work to tackle today’s challenges.

I want to finish by urging the science and research community, industry, and government, to come together to bring this vision to life. It will take our combined efforts to get this right and Australia’s future is a task for all of us to get behind.