SENATOR THE HON. ZED SESELJA
ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR SCIENCE, JOBS AND INNOVATION

SENATOR THE HON. MATTHEW CANAVAN
MINISTER FOR RESOURCES AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation Zed Seselja and Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan this morning announced $50 million of Australian Government funding for research aimed at better equipping the mining and resources sector to manage future challenges.

Minister Canavan said the funding will come from the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) program that supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community.

“I welcome the MinEx CRC, which will create new mining opportunities,” Minister Canavan said. “This collaboration will provide new opportunities for mineral discovery in the resources sector and grow the Mining Equipment, Technology and Services sector.

“The MinEx CRC aims to deliver more productive, safer and environmentally friendly drilling methods, introduce new technologies for collecting data while drilling, and new exploration data on never-before-sampled rocks across the continent.

 “This CRC will help sustain our resources industry, securing Australian jobs for the future.”

Assistant Minister Seselja said, since the program’s inception, the Australian Government had invested more than $4.4 billion in innovation and collaborative research to find practical solutions for Australian industries.

“As the Australian Government’s longest-running grant program, the CRC Program is at the heart of the effort to bring researchers and industry together to focus on solving industry-related problems and offer opportunities to commercialise new ideas,” Assistant Minster Seselja said.

“MinEx CRC will receive $50 million in government funding, and is set to leverage a further $165 million of cash and in-kind funding from CRC participants.

“The CRC program continues to be central to the Coalition Government’s commitment to improving the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industries, delivering significant economic and social benefits to Australians, and securing jobs for the future,” Assistant Minister Seselja said.

Note: Applications for the 20th CRC selection round are expected to open in May 2018.

AUTHORISED BY MATTHEW CANAVAN, SUITE M1-45 PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA