Academy urges political parties to prioritise STEM

The Academy has urged all parties to prioritise science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education before the federal election on 2 July.

The Academy emphasised the need for science and innovation to be at the heart of economic and social policy.

In its election statement, the Academy emphasised the need for science and innovation to be at the heart of economic and social policy.

Top of the Academy’s list are a rebalance of government incentives for industry research and development, gender parity on government science boards, and a boost to STEM education in regional and remote Australia.

Specific priorities in the Academy’s election statement include:

• $28m for STEM education including teacher training and evaluation
• targets for gender parity on government STEM boards and appointments
• a $40m expansion in long-standing and strategically important international science partnerships
• a shift in the ratio of direct to indirect government support for industry R&D from 10:90 to 20:80 by 2020.