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Medibank Private and Bupa have failed Australians during COVID-19: CHOICE

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“Medibank Private and Bupa have failed Australians during COVID-19,” says Dean Price, health campaigner at CHOICE.

“The two biggest funds have performed the worst when it comes to helping Australians during COVID-19. The biggest funds should have the most capacity to help their customers, but instead they’re being shown up by not for profit and smaller funds who have less capacity, but have chosen to put the community first.”

“With people struggling during this economic and health crisis, people are keen to do what is best for their health and their finances, but Medibank Private and Bupa need to do a lot more to help Australians through this,” says Price.

Profiting from COVID-19

With reports earlier this month that insurers pocketed $1 billion in the space of 42 days, CHOICE says there’s no excuse for Medibank Private and Bupa to continue with price rises on October 1st.

“With Victoria in lockdown again and unemployment still rising, it’s just outright greed for Medibank Private and Bupa to charge Australians more on October 1st. These companies are saving massive amounts of money while people are unable to use many health services

– companies increasing prices is simply taking advantage of the situation,” says Price.

PR puffery versus real help

“CHOICE presented the five major health funds with five areas of COVID-19 support they could improve, with the simplest being transparency – publishing their hardship policies so people can find out what they’re entitled to and how to get help. Instead of telling customers what help they’re eligible for, Medibank Private and Bupa sent out media releases and continued to make people jump through hoops,” says Price.

“While their marketing departments have been quick to tell the community how they’re helping but our research has found a lot left to be desired in their COVID-19 responses.”

How did the rest fare?

“HBF came out on top of the list as they are the only fund so far that has cancelled this year’s premium increase,” says Price.

“In an example of industry leadership, HBF deserves to be recognised for its decision not to increase premiums in the middle of this pandemic. This is in stark contrast to the other funds who are increasing their premiums on 1 October. Other sectors, like banking and utilities, have recognised that the impact of this pandemic is going to be felt for a long time to come and extended their response beyond 1 October. The private health insurance industry needs to keep up with these industries who have acted more fairly,” says Price.

CHOICE is calling on private health insurers to:

  • Not increase premiums on 1 October
  • Give any windfall gains back to customers
  • Let people use any unused extras next year
  • Have hardship policies in place for people who have lost their job
  • Publish their hardship policies online

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Australian MedTech research efforts boosted by $18.8 million

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The funding – which has attracted an additional $21.3 million in industry contributions – comes from the third round of the BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program, an initiative of the Medical Research Future Fund operated by MTPConnect.

MTPConnect Managing Director and CEO, Dr Dan Grant, says round three of BMTH focused predominantly on digital health innovations.

“We know that digital evolution continues to drive change across many aspects of healthcare so for this funding round we targeted support for SMEs and companies researching digitally-enabled medical devices in mobile health, health information technology, wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and digitally-enabled personalised medicine,” Dr Grant said.

“From the 21 selected projects, patients of the future are set to benefit from new research into treatments and diagnostics for conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, stroke, paralysis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, brain injuries, back pain and chronic middle ear disease.

“In a highly competitive round, our independent and expert evaluation committee has selected projects in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and NSW.

“The $18.8 million we’ve allocated to these 21 projects has leveraged an additional $21.3 million in contributions from industry which means a total of $40.1 million is flowing into the healthtech sector.

“Through the BMTH program and the MRFF we are backing innovation and technological advancements in areas such as digital health solutions, medical devices, precision and regenerative medicine supported by advanced manufacturing and clinical trials with a vision of better health outcomes globally.

“Building home-grown translational and commercialisation capacity means boosting our knowledge economy and creating new products, jobs and potential exports. This is particularly important now considering the hit that our sector has taken dealing with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.”

“MTAA is proud to be part of the BioMedTech Horizons program and supporting Australian innovation,” said Ian Burgess, MTAA CEO.

“The exciting technologies that are being supported by the BioMedTech Horizons program will contribute enormous value to the Australian healthcare system.”

The BMTH program makes funding available for SMEs to develop new health, biological and medical technologies to reach proof-of-concept so they are attractive for private capital investment and commercialisation. Further details about the 21 successful projects are listed below.

Round 3 recipients:

Anatomics Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing digitally enabled skullcaps to monitor brain swelling in craniectomy patients to optimise timing of skull reconstruction surgery.

Anisop Holdings Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is developing a nano-optimised surface to prevent orthopaedic and dental implant infections.

Apollo Medical Imaging Technology Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing an Artificial Intelligence-based clinical decision support software for guided acute stroke therapy.

Artrya Pty Ltd, Western Australia, is developing Artificial Intelligence methods for evaluating cardiac CT angiography and high-risk imaging biomarkers.

Atmo Biosciences Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing an application of Atmo ingestible gas sensing capsule to diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).

Bionic Vision Technologies Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing an implantable vision system and algorithm in their Bionic Eye Generation 3 device to restore functional vision for blind patients.

Carbon Cybernetics, Victoria, is developing a high-resolution cortical recording of the brain for the prediction and prevention of epileptic seizures.

Ear Science Institute Australia, Western Australia, is advancing the commercialisation of its ClearDrum® device, which is an acoustically-optimised silk fibroin implant for the treatment of chronic middle ear disease.

Ferronova Pty Ltd, South Australia, is working to improve colorectal cancer outcomes with hybrid cancer tracers.

Hemideina, Victoria, is developing a miniature, low-energy wireless power and data transmission system for implantable medical devices.

Inventia Life Science Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is developing a 3D bioprinting system for intraoperative skin regeneration.

Merunova Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is developing an augmented digital re-construction and re-visualisation of spine MRI for the personalised diagnosis of back pain.

Miniprobes Pty Ltd, South Australia, is developing a smart brain biopsy needle for faster, safer neurosurgery.

Neuromersiv Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is advancing the commercialisation of its hand and arm wearable device for use with the Neuromersiv virtual reality rehabilitation system.

Northern Research Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is advancing the commercialisation of its PulseVAD pulsatile rotary blood pump that is designed to treat patients suffering from a form of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) for which, at present, there is no effective treatment.

OncoRes Medical Pty Ltd, Western Australia, is developing compact wireless technology for improvement in the accuracy during breast conserving surgery.

Optiscan Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing its non-invasive confocal endomicroscopy system to enhance oral cancer screening and surgical margin assessment.

Seer, Victoria, is developing personalised epilepsy treatment via mobile and wearable monitoring.

Synchron Australia Pty Ltd, Victoria, is advancing the commercialisation of its Stentrode; a minimally-invasive brain-computer interface being designed to enable people with paralysis to restore functional independence by engaging in activities of daily living such as email communication, text messaging and online shopping, by controlling apps and external devices through thought alone, and without requiring open brain surgery.

VenstraMedical Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is enhancing the development of a transcatheter blood pump system for Cardiogenic Shock and Hemodynamically Compromised patients.

Zip Diagnostics, Victoria, is establishing domestic capabilities for combined R&D and manufacture of point-of-care diagnostics.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

MEDICAL RESEARCH FUTURE FUND NOW WORTH $20 BILLION

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The MRFF is an ongoing research fund announced by our Government in the 2014-15 budget. The target was to grow the MRFF to $20 billion through annual credits which are preserved in perpetuity.

The Government’s final credit of $3.2 billion will enable the MRFF to reach the historic $20 billion investment target just five years after the fund was established in 2015.

The capital of the MRFF is invested, with the earnings used to pay for important health and medical research projects, supporting Australia’s best and brightest health and medical researchers over the long term.

This investment is critical, particularly in light of the devastating impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on so many Australians.

The MRFF is transforming health and medical research in this country. It will improve lives. It will save lives. At the same time, it will help build the economy, make Australia a global research destination, and make our health system more sustainable.

In the 2019–20 Budget, the Morrison Government announced a $5 billion, 10-year investment plan for the MRFF.

This plan continues our support for lifesaving research to develop new drugs, treatments, devices and cures. It gives researchers and industry certainty and direction, and reaffirms Australia’s reputation as a world leader in medical research.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Edwards Lifesciences a finalist in five HR Awards categories

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This is the fourth year that Edwards has been recognised; this year, across five separate categories, up from one in 2019.

The winners will be announced on Thursday 3rd of December 2020.

Managing Director of Edwards Lifesciences ANZ and Korea, Pat Williams said:

“This is a fantastic achievement to be a finalist in five categories, which shows the strides we’ve made and the culture we’ve created locally. At Edwards, we aspire to excel as a trusted partner, fostering an inclusive culture where all employees grow and thrive.

“During these challenging times we have seen our employees having a laser focus towards our patient-centered Credo and every week we come together to celebrate those achievements.

“Our HR team deserves the recognition for delivering training and professional development programs across our ANZ organization.”

The finalists for some of the Australian HR Awards for 2020 is below.

Australian HR Awards finalists announced

Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA) Australian HR Champion (CEO) of the Year
Annette Kimmitt, MinterEllison
Belinda Scott, Djerriwarrh Health Services
Hugo Schreuder, Youi Insurance
John Burns, VetPartners
Michael Azrak, MSD
Patrick Williams, Edwards Lifesciences
Richard Deutsch, Deloitte Australia
Simon McGrath, Accor Pacific

Randstad Australian HR Director of the Year
Fiona Reed, La Trobe University
Hannah Bloch, Gold Coast Health
Ivan Pierce, Youi
Julie Harris, VetPartners
Manon Pietra, PHD
Tash Macknish, Data#3
Yolanda Mallouhi, Edwards Lifesciences
Zahra Peggs, TSA Group

Best Health & Wellbeing Program
Camden Council
Data#3
Edwards Lifesciences
Johnson & Johnson
McDonald’s Limited
Mondelez
NSW Ambulance
QBE Insurance Australia’
Sanofi
Singleton Council

Employer of Choice (1-99 Employees)
Corporate Technology Services
DBM Consultants
Edwards Lifesciences
ghd hair
Howden Australia
PerformHR
Total Image Group

Achievers Best Reward & Recognition Program
Edwards Lifesciences
Employsure
Gold Coast Health
Insight
National Disability Insurance Agency
Youi[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

MTPConnect to Deliver $47M Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Accelerator Program

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The announcement was made jointly by Hon Greg Hunt MP, the Minister for Health and Hon Karen Andrews MP, the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.

MTPConnect said it will deliver a Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Accelerator (Accelerator) program to provide a new integrated research program to improve the management and treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (D&CVD) in Australia.

The Accelerator will:

  • Establish research centres for diabetes and cardiovascular disease
  • Establish a contestable funding program to support D&CVD research projects
  • Promote the clinical and commercial translation of novel therapeutics and devices for D&CVD

The Accelerator will take a national and inclusive approach to working with clinicians, researchers, health administrators, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health groups and consumers.

MTPConnect Managing Director & CEO, Dr Dan Grant, has welcomed the awarding of the program, through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), which he says MTPConnect is uniquely placed to deliver.

“At its core, the MTPConnect Accelerator will stimulate collaboration across relevant industry, research and clinical organisations and leverage strengths across the sector to ultimately produce novel preventative interventions, diagnostic and therapeutic approaches and products for D&CVD that reduce the burden on patients, families and communities,” Dr Grant said.

“The TTRA program will drive a new focus on research efforts for the most pressing areas of unmet clinical and research needs in D&CVD, which are leading causes of death and disability in Australia.”

MTPConnect Chair Sue MacLeman says the MTPConnect Accelerator program will establish research centres for D&CVD across Australia, provide funding support and promote clinical and commercial translation.

“MTPConnect continues to make a valuable contribution to the growth of the MTP sector. Our Growth Centre work is now complemented by four Medical Research Future Fund programs worth nearly $147 million,” Sue MacLeman said.

“Through our work fostering collaboration, addressing workforce challenges, opening-up international markets and optimising regulatory and policy frameworks we are playing a key role to drive Australia’s health and economic wellbeing.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Breakthrough 20 Minutes COVID-19 Blood Test

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In a discovery that could advance the worldwide effort to limit the community spread of COVID-19 through robust contact tracing, researchers were able to identify recent COVID-19 cases using 25 microlitres of plasma from blood samples.

The research team, led by BioPRIA and Monash University’s Chemical Engineering Department, including researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent BioNano Science and Technology (CBNS), developed a simple agglutination assay – an analysis to determine the presence and amount of a substance in blood – to detect the presence of antibodies raised in response to the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Positive COVID-19 cases caused an agglutination or a clustering of red blood cells, which was easily identifiable to the naked eye. Researchers were able to retrieve positive or negative readings in about 20 minutes.

While the current swab / PCR tests are used to identify people who are currently positive with COVID-19, the agglutination assay can determine whether someone had been recently infected once the infection is resolved – and could potentially be used to detect antibodies raised in response to vaccination to aid clinical trials.

Using a simple lab setup, this discovery could see medical practitioners across the world testing up to 200 blood samples an hour. At some hospitals with high-grade diagnostic machines, more than 700 blood samples could be tested hourly – about 16,800 each day.

Study findings could help high-risk countries with population screening, case identification, contact tracing, confirming vaccine efficacy during clinical trials, and vaccine distribution.

This world-first research was published today (Friday 17 July 2020) in the prestigious journal ACS Sensors.

A patent for the innovation has been filed and researchers are seeking commercial and government support to upscale production.

Dr Simon Corrie, Professor Gil Garnier and Professor Mark Banaszak Holl (BioPRIA and Chemical Engineering, Monash University), and Associate Professor Timothy Scott (BioPRIA, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University) led the study, with initial funding provided by the Chemical Engineering Department and the Monash Centre to Impact Anti-microbial Resistance.

Dr Corrie, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Monash University and Chief Investigator in the CBNS, said the findings were exciting for governments and health care teams across the world in the race to stop the spread of COVID-19. He said this practice has the potential to become upscaled immediately for serological testing.

“Detection of antibodies in patient plasma or serum involves pipetting a mixture of reagent red blood cells (RRBCs) and antibody-containing serum/plasma onto a gel card containing separation media, incubating the card for 5-15 minutes, and using a centrifuge to separate agglutinated cells from free cells,” Dr Corrie said.

“This simple assay, based on commonly used blood typing infrastructure and already manufactured at scale, can be rolled out rapidly across Australia and beyond. This test can be used in any lab that has blood typing infrastructure, which is extremely common across the world.”

Researchers collaborated with clinicians at Monash Health to collect blood samples from people recently infected with COVID-19, as well as samples from healthy individuals sourced before the pandemic emerged.

Tests on 10 clinical blood samples involved incubating patient plasma or serum with red blood cells previously coated with short peptides representing pieces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

If the patient sample contained antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, these antibodies would bind to peptides and result in aggregation of the red blood cells. Researchers then used gel cards to separate aggregated cells from free cells, in order to see a line of aggregated cells indicating a positive response. In negative samples, no aggregates in the gel cards were observed.

“We found that by producing bioconjugates of anti-D-IgG and peptides from SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and immobilising these to RRBCs, selective agglutination in gel cards was observed in the plasma collected from patients recently infected with SARS-CoV-2 in comparison to healthy plasma and negative controls,” Professor Gil Garnier, Director of BioPRIA, said.

“Importantly, negative control reactions involving either SARS-CoV-2-negative samples, or RRBCs and SARS-CoV-2-positive samples without bioconjugates, all revealed no agglutination behaviour.”

Professor Banaszak Holl, Head of Chemical Engineering at Monash University, commended the work of talented PhD students in BioPRIA and Chemical Engineering who paused their projects to help deliver this game changing COVID-19 test.

“This simple, rapid, and easily scalable approach has immediate application in SARS-CoV-2 serological testing, and is a useful platform for assay development beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. We are indebted to the work of our PhD students in bringing this to life,” Professor Banaszak Holl said.

“Funding is required in order to perform full clinical evaluation across many samples and sites. With commercial support, we can begin to manufacture and roll out this assay to the communities that need it. This can take as little as six months depending on the support we receive.”

COVID-19 has caused a worldwide viral pandemic, contributing to nearly 600,000 deaths and more than 13.8 million cases reported internationally. Australia has reported 10,810 cases and 113 deaths (figures dated 17 July 2020).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Medibank to pay $5 million in penalties for misrepresentations to members about benefits

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Medibank falsely advised 849 members with ahm’s “lite” or “boost” policies who had lodged claims or enquired about their coverage, that they were not covered for joint investigations or joint reconstruction procedures, when these policies in fact entitled them to coverage for these procedures. At least 1,396 enquiries or claims were incorrectly rejected.

Medibank admitted this breach occurred because it failed to include 186 joint investigation and reconstruction services in its claiming system for the ahm “lite” policy between February 2013 and July 2018, and failed to include 26 such services in its system for the “boost” policy between February 2017 and July 2018.

Despite Medibank identifying in June 2017 that some service codes had not been included, Medibank rejected 370 enquiries or claims over another 13 months, until the conduct ceased in July 2018.

The services involved included critical services, such as spinal surgery, pelvic surgery, hip surgery and knee reconstructions, as well as procedures on fibulas, elbows, heels, wrists, kneecaps and jaws.

“Medibank’s false statements to consumers were a serious breach of our consumer law. These representations were made for more than five years in many cases, and affected hundreds of customers who were denied the cover they were entitled to under their existing Medibank policies for joint procedures that they required,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

“Some Medibank policy holders incurred extra out of pocket expenses for major medical procedures, some delayed having these joint procedures and managed their pain, while others ‘upgraded’ their Medibank policies at an additional cost when they didn’t have to.”

Medibank self-reported this conduct to the ACCC in August 2018 and has since notified about 130,000 current and former policy holders. It invited them to make a complaint or seek compensation. By 22 June 2020, Medibank had paid more than $775,000 in compensation to 175 affected members, including some who upgraded their policies unnecessarily based on the false information.

“Businesses who self-report breaches of the Australian Consumer Law are not exempt from ACCC enforcement action, but the penalties ordered by the court will take their cooperation into account,” Mr Sims said.

Medibank has undertaken to the ACCC that it will contact about 670 policy holders who have not already taken up Medibank’s offer for compensation and provide them with a further chance to claim. Medibank will also pay these members an additional $400 as a one-off payment.

Anyone who may be eligible will be notified by Medibank and will have six months to make a claim on the ahm website at https://members.ahm.com.au/joint-claims or can contact ahm on 134 246 or 1300 484 395.

Medibank has also undertaken to review its compliance procedures, and amend its incident management procedures.

Medibank cooperated with the ACCC’s investigation, admitted liability and made joint submissions to the Court with the ACCC.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Australian COVID-19 Research: From vaccines to aircon filters

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Research Australia, the national peak body for health and medical research, has released the first report in its COVID-19 series showcasing the incredible breadth of Australia’s COVID-19 research.

“Australians are rightly proud of our world-leading vaccine projects. There’s incredible work being done beyond the lab too – everything from guidelines for breastfeeding mothers to filters that have the potential to remove the coronavirus from air conditioning systems,” said Research Australia CEO, Nadia Levin.

“The true range of COVID-19 medical research is not evident to the researchers themselves, let alone governments and the general public who are relying on our medical researchers to get us through this pandemic.

“In this report we look at over 200 research projects to demonstrate the depth and breadth of COVID-19 research underway in Australia right now,” Nadia Levin said.

The volume of coronavirus medical research is testament to long-term investment in Australia’s medical research capacity, but that it had come at a cost.

“The sudden ‘downing of tools’ that must happen when researchers are called upon to pivot their research towards an urgent pandemic throws existing projects, and their funding, off course. Like other parts of the economy, health and medical research is suffering.

“Research Australia is already talking to its members about how we re-design a medical research system which can withstand these crises because there is a very real possibility COVID-19 won’t be the only pandemic we see in our lifetime,” Nadia Levin said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

ANDHealth Releases Digital Health Industry Report

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Three years in the making, the report contains detailed information dating back to ANDHealth’s 2017 inception. The report notes that the global value of the digital health market is predicted to reach USD$505.4 billion by 2025, up from USD$86.4 billion in 2018.

Since mid-2017, ANDHealth has engaged with more than 300 companies, demonstrating a huge pipeline of high potential growth companies, representing a diverse set of clinical indications, technologies and end users settings in the digital health sector.

The greatest challenges facing the industry however is the ability to commercialise these technologies, access to capital, access to customers and access to the expertise necessary to market.

Despite this, publicly funded infrastructure capabilities in Australia such as the MyHealthRecord, the Digital Health CRC and substantial State-led initiatives have created the necessary environment upon which digital medicine and therapeutics companies can begin to build patient facing interventions to substantially improve outcomes.

The pipeline of companies and technologies outlined in the report demonstrates the potential to position Australia as a global destination for digital health development, commercialisation, clinical trials and implementation, delivering against the triple aim of post-COVID recovery investment:

  1. Economic growth through high value STEM-based companies headquartered in Australia, delivering globally;
  2. A resilient, agile, scalable and personalised healthcare system, focused on preventing, diagnosing, managing and treating illness using cutting edge technologies; and
  3. Expanded high-value manufacturing capabilities, through sensors, wearable, connected devices and regulated software products.

MTPConnect Chair, Sue MacLeman, said there was no longer any doubt that digital health is at the heart of the modern healthcare landscape.

“The technologies around data standardisation, artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming healthcare services, with digital enablement and integrations pricing opportunities for continuous healthcare improvement that we couldn’t have imagined just a few years ago. Most excitingly, the possibilities for future innovations are profound,” Ms MacLeman said.

The report concluded that healthcare remains one of the last remaining sectors to experience wholesale disruption, until now. Digital health will be absolutely essential to delivering equitable, high-value and affordable care in the future.

As healthcare costs rise and consumers demand more from health systems around the world, digital interventions which improve health and wellbeing and save the system critical capital will be key. For our early innovators, such as the companies that the report highlights, this means navigating often uncharted waters, and linking into a growing and dynamic international network of innovators, investors and service providers to reach their global potential.

Read the Report here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Labor Lays Out Plan for Innovation and Science

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In his address, which touched on everything from the invention of Australian bank notes and sheep-shearing to artificial intelligence and climate change,  Mr Albanese sought to outline his party’s vision for a path forward for Australia in a post-COVID environment.

At the heart of Labor’s Sixth Vision Statement was an Australian future “powered by science” to address the nation’s future challenges.

Mr Albanese highlighted Australia’s now obvious reliance on services and the export of raw materials.

“We’re making ourselves vulnerable to a decline in living standards,” Mr Albanese said.

“But this is our chance to start turning things around. The future belongs to those countries that innovate, adapt and adjust. When it comes to repairing and building that economy, technology and innovation will be key to boosting productivity, growing local manufacturing and achieving self-reliance.”

Although Mr Albanese’s title is the Leader of the Opposition, his approach outlined throughout his vision speeches reflects back to a statement he made in the first few months of his leadership.

“I want to be the Labor Leader not the Opposition Leader,” he said. This approach has permeated through to each of his vision statements, where he has advocated for a collaborative approach with the Morrison Government.

Mr Albanese did, however, carve out a difference of position to the Morrison Government in his call for greater R&D funding.

Criticising the former Abbott Government for “hollowing out the CSIRO”, the Labor Leader blamed the Morrison Government for low levels of R&D funding, noting that “R&D investment has fallen between 2 per cent of GDP” meaning it was now below countries like South Korea, Israel, Sweden, Denmark, and Singapore.

Australia needs a comprehensive plan to create a supply of STEM workers, which is undermined by contracting out at the CSIRO and cuts to R&D tax incentives.

Mr Albanese bellies the best-practice countries are the ones that drive innovation more directly, focusing their national research efforts into areas of comparative advantage or ‘national missions’.

Despite this criticism, Mr Albanese has joined the Prime Minister in calling for the innovative policy solutions to be guided by scientific facts rather than ideologies.

In his closing remarks, Mr Albanese said “Labor understands intrinsically the core role of science in improving lives, strengthening the economy and, ultimately, lifting us up as a nation and making us bigger as people.

“To brighten the future, we need only look to the core ingredients we’ve relied on before.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]