National Innovation and Science Agenda With the mining invest ment boom receding, our Innovation agende is going to help create the modern, dynamic, 21st-century economy Australia needs, This package is about creating high paid jobs and equipping Australia to compete in the global economy. The Government has announced 24 measures, involving $1.1 billion of spending, The package is designed to encourage every business across the country to be more innovative, entrepreneurial and more prepared to take risks. We're backing Australians so they back themselves, Our universities, research organisations and workforce are world-class but Australia is falling behind when it comes to commercialising ideas and collaborating with industry. © We consistently rank among the bottom of OECD countries for business research collaborstion. ©. The number of SMEs bringing new ideas to market is low by international standards AAs the Academy of Science's Professor Les Field said this week, the “new agenda represents 2 turning point - it means we can grow an economy based on our outstanding science” The Remarks of the Prime Minister and Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science at the policy launch are available at: http://www.pm.ov.ou/media/2015-12-07/launch-national- innovation.aov.ou/page/ogende Ice Taskforce Australia uses more methamphetamine, including Ice, on a per capita basis, than almost any other country in the world. Evidence suggests that there are well over 200,000 ice users in Australia. The Report of the Ice Taskforce made 38 recommendations on how strengthen their response to ice across five key action areas: © Supporting families, communities and frontline workers by providing information and resourees to help them respond to ice. © Targeting prevention activities to those most at-risk of using ice. © Tailoring services and support to ensure that people who need to can access a range of treatment options suited to their needs, © Strengthening law enforcement to more effectively disrupt the supply of ice in Australia, and © Improving governance and building better evidence to enhance our knowledge and help inform how we continue to respond to the use of the drug. overnments can+ We will make 2 major investment of 241.Smilion over the next four years to improve access and treatment for Ice and other drugs, through the Primary Health Networks, on top of the up to $310 million already allocated for treatment services. * The Government's full response is available at www.health gov.au/ice If Asked: COAG Tax Proposals * This work was carried out based on presentations made by NSW and QLD at the COAG meeting in July. * itwas agreed by then Prime Minister Abbott and the State premiers that the options presented by NSW and QLD should be worked on by the Treasury. * Discussions on these options will therefore be led by Premiers Baird and Palaszczuk at Friday's meeting. * All options will be looked at as we work with the States to fix the tax system. Asked: Japanese Whaling ‘The Australian Government has joined 32 like-minded nations to protest Japan's decision to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean this summer. + Governments urged Japan to respect the International Whaling Commission’s procedures and the advice of its Expert Review Panel and Scientific Committee. + There is no scientific basis to include lethal methods in Japan’s whaling program. As such, Japan should not issue a special permit to conduct lethal whaling activities, + The science is clear: all information necessary for management and conservation of whales can be obtained through non-lethal methods. If Asked: Labor's Union Governance Policy ‘+ Bill Shorten and Labor have serious questions to answer as to why they have denied the existence of widespread governance issues in the trade union movement to the detriment of workers. ‘+ Labor voted against the Government's Registered Organisations bill to clean up union governance on three separate occasions. + The Coalition is committed to passing legislation to improve the standard of ‘governance in trade unions. Honest union members need to have confidence that their money is not being misused by dodgy union bosses. + The final report of the Heydon Royal Commission will be delivered later this month, ‘The Government will carefully consider any recommendations that it makes for further reforms to union governance before re-introducing its legislation. If Asked: Stronger Regions * We have announced $293 million to fund 111 projects to help deliver economic benefits to communities through Round Two of the National Stronger Regions Fund. * The second round of the programme had seen an increase in the number of applications, with 513 applications seeking $1.5 billion in funding. If Asked: Jan Macfarlane + Mr Macfarlane was disappointed not to be reappointed to the Cabinet * Difficult decisions had to be made given depth of talent in party room * Mr Macfarlane has made the decision to move party rooms and while the Liberals would have preferred he remained in their party room, itis now a matter for the LNP in Queensland.+ Any discussion relating to Cabinet is between the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. If Asked: Joe Hockey Appointed as U.S. Ambassador + Joe is a great Australian and has been involved in Australian public life for two decades. He is a passionate patriot with a good understanding of how Washington works already. ‘+ The Government also thanks Kim Beazley for his service as our Ambassador in Washington. IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the message from your computer system.