QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Dr CHALMERS (Rankin—Treasurer) (15:03): I can give that commitment. We won't be abolishing the fund. We think the fund serves a very important purpose when it comes to health research, so I'm happy to give that assurance.
In fact, all of the discussions that we've had about this fund in the time that you have been raising it in good faith, from a good place and based on all of your experience, and all of the conversations that I've been having with the Minister for Health and Ageing about this are about strengthening the role of the fund and making sure that it's serving the purpose for which it is intended, so I provide the member with that assurance.
The reason we're big believers in the fund is that we know how important medical research is. We are a nation of innovators. We know that that innovation can help when it comes to some of our most persistent health challenges, and I'm proud—and I'm sure the government is proud and the cabinet is proud—that in our 2024-25 budget we had the $6½ billion 10-year investment plan supported by the Medical Research Future Fund.
I want to pay tribute here to the Minister for Health and Ageing and his colleagues in the health team for the work that he does in making sure that the fund is doing the job for which it is intended. When the honourable member asked the minister for health a similar question, he pointed out that we're now funding more than $1½ billion of health and medical research every year through not just the MRFF but also the endowment account of the NHMRC.
That includes projects like clinical trials to help patients access cutting-edge medical interventions and build our evidence base; investing in research missions, including better treating brain cancer and cardiovascular health; reducing health inequities; and also training the next generation of clinical researchers. We've taken a consistent approach, a reliable approach, to drawing down from the fund—providing that $650 million a year as part of the 10-year investment plan.
In years where the maximum disbursement recommended by the future fund has been lower than the $650 million, we've provided additional funding through the budget process. From memory—or I am told—in 2022-23, we topped it up. When the recommendation was $598 million, we provided an extra $52 million.
As the minister also indicated when the honourable member asked him most recently, we will consider findings from the review of the MRFF as part of the broader work on our National Health and Medical Research Strategy. We will look forward to engaging further with the member about what comes next. I'll finish where I started.
These research funds are really important. We believe in them. The important role that health and medical research play in our community, in our economy and, most particularly, when it comes to the health of Australians—the position that we take following that review will reflect that.
(Time expired)