Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced an Australian $1.1 billion package to fund an “ideas boom” for the next four years, marking one of his first serious departures from his less business focused predecessor, Tony Abbott.
As part of the package, Australia’s peak scientific programs and bodies have been guaranteed funding for at least the next decade, by allocating about $3 billion to new and existing bodies over the period. As part of the package, there will be a $200 million CSIRO Innovation Fund established to co-invest in new spin-off companies and existing start-ups that develop technology from the CSIRO and other public research agencies and universities.
The Innovation Statement also includes proposed annual income tax rebates of up to $200,000 for retail investors and relaxed bankruptcy laws to encourage risk-taking investments assist the transition from the mining boom to Mr Turnbull’s aspired ideas boom.
