
Issue No 102		13 July 2001

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News

Howard Cuts R&D Spending by 15 Per Cent

New figures revealing a further 3% collapse in business research and development since the Howard Government came to office threatened Australia's long-term jobs growth, according to the ACTU.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday show business expenditure on R&D fell by another 3% in the 1999/2000 year to $4.05 billion - 15.6% lower than its peak in 1995/96 when the Howard Government was first elected.

The figures come after this week's ANZ job ads survey recorded its lowest level for four years, sparking fears that unemployment will exceed 7% in today's official Labour Force statistics.

"Australia under John Howard has slipped down the OECD table of investment in future industries to become one of the worst performing nations in the developed world," ACTU President Sharan Burrow said today.

"Smart countries like Finland, Japan and the United States are spending more than three times as much on business R&D than Australia. In the OECD, only Hungary, Poland, Spain and Italy invest less than us as a proportion of GDP.

"This makes a mockery of the so-called Knowledge Society announcement by the Federal Government yesterday. Not one extra cent in new investment is being provided," Ms Burrow said.

The R&D figures confirmed the Federal Labor Party's Knowledge Nation report finding that Australia was underspending on education and innovation by between 1.2% and 2% of GDP compared to the OECD average.

"This proves that under the five years of the Howard Government, Australia has spent between $40 billion and $60 billion less than the OECD average on education and innovation," Ms Burrow said.

The failure of the Howard Government to develop industry policy had resulted in rising unemployment, a fall-off in key export growth and downward pressure on the Australian dollar.

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  Issue 102 contents

Interview: Jolly Green Giant
Senator Bob Brown on the upcoming federal poll, balances of power and what the Greens can teach the trade union movement.

Workplace: Call Centre Takeover
Theresa Davison brings us this real-life story from the coal face of the call centre industry.

E-Change: 1.2 Community ďż˝ The Ultimate Network
Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel look at the potential for network technologies to reconnect communities.

International: Child's Play
Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA has recently entered a new alliance with the Child Labour Schools Company to support a project for child labourers in India.

History: Flowers to the Rebels Faded
With the departure of our own Wobbly, a look at the development of the Wobblies in Australia and their view of Labor politicians and the work ethic seems timely.

East Timor: A Dirty Little War
In this extract from his new book, John Martinkus recounts the scenes in Dili immediately following the independence ballot.

Satire: Telstra Share Failure Ends City-Bush Divide: Everybody Screwed Equally
Communications Minister Richard Alston today claimed that the government had fulfilled its promise to ensure that the bush was not disproportionately disadvantaged by Telstra's privatisation.

Review: Cheesy Management
Currently climbing Australian best-seller lists is the 'life-changing' motivational book 'Who Moved My Cheese?' Rowan Cahill has a nibble but doesn't like the taste.

» Search for a Dude Begins

» Public Money Backs a Stellar Bully

» Workers Get First Meal Break In Five Years

» Soft Penalty for Video Nasties

» Negligent Employers Should Pay

» Brit Cleaners Serve It Up to Aussie Boss

» Rio Tinto Guilty of Hunter Valley Sackings

» Rail Workers Strike for their Families' Security

» Nurses Seek Urgent Action on Pay

» Workers Win Tip Top Delegate Rights

» Telstra Halts Latest Privatisation Plans

» Requiem for the Banks

» Surfers Remember Oil Slick Disaster

» Widespread Mail Disruptions on Cards

» Minister for Caged Hair Gets Hot Welcome in West

» Cleaner Wins Right to Attend Family Reunion

» Howard Cuts R&D Spending by 15 Per Cent

» Fears Grow Over Shangri-La Protests

» Mick Young Play Award

» Activist Notebook