I begin by thanking Aunty Violet for the Welcome to Country, and I join in acknowledging the owners of the traditional lands on which we're meeting this evening, pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. And also acknowledge and pay my respects to First Nations people who are joining us here this evening.
I'd like to acknowledge the Minister for Industry and Science, Senator Tim Ayres, the Assistant Minister for Science, Dr Andrew Charlton, and other members and senators that are here.
I do want to acknowledge as well the work that has occurred from the former Minister for Science, Ed Husic, as well, played a really important role.
And I want to acknowledge Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Tony Haymet.
Tonight is an opportunity to give recognition to the memory of former Chief Scientist and President of the Australian Academy of Science, Dr Jim Peacock.
Dr Peacock was a winner of the inaugural Prime Minister's Prize for Science in 2000 for his contribution to Australian science and agriculture.
Work shaped by his great love of the Australian bush.
And a contribution to our nation that will long endure.
On behalf of the Government of Australia, I offer my condolences to Dr Peacock's family, friends and colleagues, of whom I know a number of people in this room will fall into that category.
It's a privilege to be with you all tonight, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science for another year.
I must say, I'm always intimidated when I come along to this event. Everyone around these tables not only speaks about what research they're doing, they do it in a way, as if it's really casual. 'We're just discovering a cure for a medical ailment that has been around for a long period of time.' Or 'yeah, we have the Young Australian of the Year from the Torres Strait here, just happens to be chilling out with the scientists here as well.'
So, I went to the previous event - my previous event on the way here was the launch of Parliamentary Friends of Tourism. So, I want to thank you for making me the best dressed person who's ever gone to a Parliamentary Friends Group as well. It gave them a bit of a shock. I condemn them for not dressing up.
But tonight is a chance to truly celebrate the achievements of individuals, but also to celebrate who we are as a nation.
You know, we are very good at celebrating our sports people and achievements in the arts. Today in Parliament, we had Missy Higgins come along and sing a few songs, and that is fantastic.
But the work that you do lasts through generations.
And that is why, recognising the success, recognising the inspiration, and recognising as well the determination of not only the people in this room but the network of researchers, innovators, teachers and academics that make up Australia's wonderful scientific community is so important.
This year, like all years, it's been a good year for Australian science.
Or perhaps I should say - bigger than usual.
Because it's not every year an Australian scientist is recognised with a Nobel Prize.
I am, of course, speaking about Professor Richard Robson, a great Australian.
Last month, along with two colleagues, Professor Robson became a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for his work developing an entirely new form of molecular architecture called metal-organic frameworks.
Metal-organic frameworks are tiny, amazing structures.
Literally molecule sized, a teaspoon of these materials has the surface area of a football field.
You can think of metal-organic frameworks as tiny nets, or bubbles, that interact with matter at incredibly precise and miniscule levels.
And though molecular in scale, the implications of Professor Robson's discovery for Australian industry and technology are massive.
From collecting water from the air of arid environments to delivering precise medical treatments, removing carbon from the atmosphere, or storing and transporting hydrogen as an energy source, Professor Robson's research reveals new ways to tackle stubborn problems.
His achievement is the culmination of a 60 year career of scientific pursuit, of the distillation of his knowledge, of trial, error - and success.
It deserves our congratulations - and our deepest admiration.
And I must say, given the hashtag that's already been advertised by Rae, one of the things I was really pleased by was I gave a speech in the Parliament about the award, and it received an enormous number of likes on the Insta post. So, what that said to me was that out there, there is a yearning for this amongst mainstream Australia. Even those of us - it took me some time to say what exactly it is Professor Robson's done, and how does this work, and why is it important. And I had someone who's smarter than me in my office who was able to explain that to me.
But this is the great thing that Australians, like we do in so many fields, we punch above our weight - including in science.
This new Australian Nobel Prize also represents a significant moment for the University of Melbourne, the Australian Research Council and the Australian Research Grants Committee.
These organisations have supported Professor Robson and his work for decades, making him the first Australian Laureate to be recognised after receiving Australian public funding for his research.
Their support for Professor Robson is a reminder of the quiet, sustained way in which our public research institutions contribute not just to the life of the nation, but to the whole world.
Their investment in science, what it brings us, and how it shapes our world is immensely valuable - not just to Australian researchers, but all of us as Australians.
Tonight also marks another significant milestone in the scientific life of our nation.
For the first time, the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science includes the inaugural Prize for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems.
It is a worthy and important change.
Over the span of thousands of generations, First Nations' Australians have cultivated a unique connection to this land.
To its ecosystems, its skies and its waterways.
An intimate wisdom, passed on through deep time.
Through this connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have created their own detailed knowledge of meteorology, astronomy, horticulture, biology.
For the longest time, much of this knowledge went unseen and unconsidered by mainstream science.
Yet, just as embracing the world's oldest continuous culture has enriched our understanding of our history.
Understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander science allows us to see things we might otherwise have missed.
Shedding new light on problems, making fresh connections across disciplines and deepening our collective knowledge of our home continent, and the world around us.
This is surely what lies at the heart of science.
Pursuing curiosity.
Looking at a problem through a different lens or applying a new expertise.
And therefore, expanding the realm of the possible to come to a new or improved hypothesis.
It is that valuable contribution to building on the Australian scientific project that is reflected in the Prime Minister's Prize for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems.
Just the Saturday before last, I was at Uluṟu.
And I was there celebrating the 40-year handback to First Nations people of that most extraordinary piece of Australia in Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa.
And looking at the art there, one of the things that is extraordinary as a non-Indigenous person, and when we speak about science and how this could all occur, how the landscapes in Aboriginal art capture what is on the ground. As if the knowledge from, taken from right up in the sky, the accuracy of what has happened, just shows in one really practical way that I think Australians can understand, that the knowledge that's been built up over First Nations people over the 65,000 years that they have been caring for the lands and waters of this great country really do require just a different level of respect for the way that that knowledge shows itself to those of us who are new arrivals, or descendants of new arrivals on this planet.
My Government will always champion Australian science.
I'm proud that I attend the meetings of the committee that I have the honour to chair. We'll meet again on Wednesday, with the Chief Scientist and his team.
It matters.
We know Australian science is a key driver of our economy now, and will continue to be.
Whether it's harnessing the power of AI, generating and storing renewable energy, improving the way we grow our food or treat illness, or quantum computing, looking at the next few decades, it is Australian science that has so much to contribute to the world that we know is just around the corner.
Of course, we face a changing world.
Increasingly Australian challenges are also global ones.
This makes the impact of those challenges more acute, and also makes them more difficult to solve.
We know, because the science tells us, that climate change is happening, and we are feeling the effects of climate change.
Our Government has an ambitious and achievable plan to get us to 62 to 70 per cent lower emissions by 2035 and then to Net Zero by 2050.
But the fact that some question the science, reiterates to us that we have the responsibility to continue to argue the case and not assume that facts are understood.
And we have a responsibility to the people - not so much people in this room - but to my son, and your sons and daughters, and their sons and daughters, and their sons and daughters, to act in a way that stresses the urgency which is required from the challenge.
But also, the opportunity through the use of science to find ways that alleviate the challenge but create actually greater economic prosperity by seizing those opportunities which are there.
It is not either or. It is both.
If we are smart, and if we embrace science rather than embrace a flat Earth position that is not real.
I'm amazed that there's still a debate.
We are investing in the National Reconstruction Fund and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to boost renewables and low carbon industry.
And the Denholm Review into our research and development performance is focused on harnessing Australian R&D to power economic growth, and boost our industry at home.
Australian science is at the centre of all this.
Our technology, our research - and teachers educating and inspiring our next generations with that spark of scientific curiosity.
As we look ahead, it is the work of the people in this room who will put Australia in the best possible position to seize the opportunities that are in front of us.
Tonight is an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of those Australians who work diligently in universities, schools and labs, or out in the bush and on our coastlines, devoting their lives to curiosity and the discovery and teaching of science for the benefit of all Australians.
Whether you have been recognised with an award tonight or not - your commitment to science is worth celebrating.
In your pursuit of excellence, you help to drive our nation.
You add to what - and who - we are.
And you expand the realm of what is possible.
And on behalf of the Australian Government, I say, thank you.
