30 January 2017
Australia’s peak body for health and medical research has welcomed the appointment of the
Hon Brad Hazzard MP as Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research.
“Bringing health and medical research back under one senior minister presents new opportunities to better integrate health and medical research with clinical care. This will mean better outcomes for patients and opportunities to achieve sustainable spending within the NSW health budget,” Research Australia CEO Nadia Levin said.
For the first time last year, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported Australia was spending 10 per cent of GDP on health. For every dollar invested in Australian health and medical research, an average of $2.17 in health benefits is returned.
“Research Australia will continue to work closely with the NSW Government to ensure the integration of research and clinical care remains high on Minister Hazzard’s agenda,” Ms Levin said.
Research Australia also acknowledged the enormous contribution of the outgoing portfolio Ministers.
“Jillian Skinner who was NSW’s first Minister for Medical research and most recently, Minister Pru Goward in the portfolio had a demonstrated commitment to making NSW a world leader in health and medical research.
“They will be remembered for their incredible commitment to health and medical research and the significant investment of $1 billion in the sector since 2011 through schemes including the Medical Devices Fund,” Ms Levin said.
