The chairman of the Western Australian Technology and Industry Advisory Council (TIAC)l, Charles Morgan, has resigned after four months in the job, reportedly because he was frustrated that research and development were not being taken seriously by the WA Government.

 

Shadow Science and Innovation Minister Kate Doust said that since Mr Morgan was appointed, the Science and Innovation Minister John Day had only met with him once and had not yet met with the  Council at all.

 

"It is completely unacceptable for the Minister in charge of driving science and innovation in Western Australia to show such contempt to the body he established to give the State a strong strategic direction.

 

“After abolishing previous advisory boards, the Science Council was set up more than a year after it was promised in 2009. Under the Barnett Government, science and innovation programs have been slashed and the science budget has been gutted," Ms Doust said.

 

According to an ABC report, Budget papers reveal that $54.5 million was allocated to science and innovation grants last year but only $41 million was spent. This year the allocation is $36.5 million, falling to $21.1 million in 2011-12, $15.4 million in 2012-13 and $3.2 million in 2013-14.


Mr Morgan's resignation comes after the release last  month of a major report by TIAC, 'From Strength to Strength: An Innovation Plan for Driving Western Australia's Future Prosperity.' The report recommended that research and development (R&D) investment be increased as a percentage of gross state product, including increased investment in internationally recognised collaborative centres  and provision of critical research and innovation infrastructure, including human capital.

 

The Council recommended that a lead agency be given responsibility for coordinating and overseeing all of Western Australia’s Government innovation activities "to ensure an integrated approach which maximises the value of the Government’s overall investment". Further, a Ministerial Council, chaired by the Minister for Science and Innovation, should be established within Cabinet to ensure innovation is recognised as a whole-of-government priority area and to provide leadership for the delivery of this approach.

 

Mr Morgan,  a venture capitalist and seed investor in resource projects, last year donated nearly $1 million to the University of WA to purchase two genome sequencers and establish a Western Australian biomedical genomics facility.


The TIAC report, 'From Strength to Strength: An Innovation Plan for Driving Western Australia's Future Prosperity,' is available at http://www.tiac.wa.gov.au