The Federation of Australian Science and Technological Societies is writing to the Federal Science Minister, John Moore, asking him to fund a study which wouldstandardise the results of various cost-benefit analyses of research into rural industries in Australia. Australian science and technology supports industries in the bush such as wine, mining, aquaculture and agriculture.
Research institutions contribute to community life in rural areas.
Baker said research organisations had mixed fortunes under recent Federal Governments, with cutbacks and closures affecting rural and regional areas. Governments had tended to overlook the significant long-term returns that such investment offered. But we need to keep working to hold these valuable markets, and create new products for niche export markers. Native crops like acacia seeds are virtually untapped, and high-quality fruit exports can fill niche markets in Asia.