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‘This generation is living through a perfect storm of bushfires, pandemic and recession. Never in our lifetime has the world turned to scientists in the way they have now. This is our moment.’ @DrLarryMarshall of @CSIRO tells @PressClubAust #npc
Speech thread: Science has the unique and wonderful ability to unite people around a mission to achieve things that were once thought impossible.
Science helps us see into the future to understand what that ground might be, and to prepare for future threats.
COVID-19 and the devastating bushfires of last season have brought into sharp focus the role of science in national preparedness, and in our ability to weather future crises.
But it’s important to understand that this doesn’t just happen – it involves foresight, planning, and investment in the right areas.
The reason @CSIRO was able to hit the ground running on #COVID-19 was because our research and modelling foresaw the threat of a pandemic four years ago, and we prepared for it, he says.
Preparation of our facilities and our research was, and continues to be, critical – but the moments that really mattered were shaped by people.
The bushfire researchers working on fire behaviours, the manufacturing researchers retooling our capability to produce PPE, our water scientists testing wastewater for #COVID19au, the researchers working round the clock at the Aust Centre for Disease Preparedness on vaccine tests
History has shown us that when we work together to harness the power of science, we can overcome incredible challenges.
We are at one of those rare moments in history where the decisions we make now have the power to change the course of our future.
We are living in a real-life, high stakes science experiment, and we need to use evidence to make our next move.
And so today, we are announcing a new program of missions to support Australia’s future.
While this program of missions is new, the use of science to reinvent and differentiate our industries is not.
Science has been doing this for years.
Science has been doing this for years.
We are still a small population, but we are a smart one. We cannot compete on size or scale – our future must be about differentiation.
By working together, by aligning our efforts, and by pushing each other further for a common cause, we can achieve more – and we can achieve it faster.
We work with researchers and professors from all Australian universities, including Nobel prize winner, and Vice Chancellor of ANU, Professor Brian Schmidt. (Ping @cosmicpinot @ANUmedia @uniaus)
Impact is the key word here, because we can’t stop until we put a real solution into the hands of real people who will use it to solve a real problem.
Australia has great research capability and potential to lead in future industries, but we have to get better at translating that research.
If we don’t, our science will continue to be a raw commodity, shipped offshore to create wealth and jobs elsewhere.
If we don’t, our science will continue to be a raw commodity, shipped offshore to create wealth and jobs elsewhere.
We can do it, and that’s not just a hope – it’s a fact, because we’ve done it before. It’s said that Australia was built on the sheep’s back, and it’s true that wool was once our greatest industry. But it only became so because Australian science reinvented wool itself.
Before that you couldn’t weave wool, wear a wool suit, or even wash it – Australian science changed all that with a weaving machine to turn wool into clothes for the world.
Even when it ends with a giant leap, every mission begins with one small step.
COVID-19 will continue to disrupt, but Australia can harness this disruption to build a stronger, more resilient country in the process.
This is important, because there will be more pandemics and more disruption.
This is important, because there will be more pandemics and more disruption.
As we head into National #ScienceWeek in a few days, there has never been a more important time for science, and its power to unite us around big, visionary programs that make the impossible, possible. (Ping @Aus_ScienceWeek)
We have an opportunity to treat 2020 like a call to action – albeit a dreadful one – to come together as we did 100 years ago, and focus our collective efforts and resources on solving our future challenges to secure our jobs, wealth and way of life.
Others have harnessed electricity, walked on the Moon, switched on the internet. This is our moment. This is our time. This is our future.
It’s time to leap.
It’s time to leap.
