CANBERRA – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison presented a research commercialization strategy worth Australian dollar 2.2 billion (USD1.5 billion) on Tuesday.

The package includes A$1.6 billion for Australia's Economic Accelerator, which will support high-potential research initiatives in defence, space, resource technology, food and beverage, clean energy, and medical items.

Another A$296 million will be spent on PhDs with an industry focus. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), which administers the Innovation Fund, would receive a boost of A$150 million. Morrison claimed that the additional money will improve Australia's commercial competitiveness in research.

"It will enable Australian inventors to access financial opportunities at every stage of their project as long as they can continue to demonstrate project viability and, more significantly, commercial potential," he added.

"We need to speed up the development of connections between Australian industry and academic researchers." And we need to foster a new generation of research entrepreneurs in Australia so that they may develop new products, start new businesses, and, most crucially, create new employment.

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