The Hon MP Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Parliament House Canberra ACT 2700

Dear Mr Abbott,

We write to bring to your attention a grave crisis facing health and medical research (HMR) sector. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the principal public funding body for HMR in Australia. Conservative extrapolations of economic benefits resulting from NHMRC investment in health R&D between 2000 and 2010, measured across only five disease groups (cardiovascular, cancer, SIDS, asthma and muscular dystrophy), predict:

• savings of $966 million in direct and indirect health costs to the health system1 • gains in wellbeing valued at $6 billion1 • commercial benefits across these disease groups of $1.6 billion1

The HMR sector returns $2.17 for every $1 invested2.

As you know, NHMRC, through the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA), administers public funding for health and medical research. This account has eroded to the point where, in 2014, the investment into research and researchers was the lowest in the history of the NHMRC (grant success rates <15%; a dramatic decline of 8% since 2011). It is predicted to be even lower (<10%) in 2015. In addition, the NHMRC budget allocation dropped below the 2008 investment.

The attrition of the MREA has meant an ongoing loss of people, projects and intellectual capital; it means the momentum of discovery is interrupted, the realisation of prior investment is lost and, most importantly, the sector which underpins the whole of health and health delivery in Australia is jeopardised.

Government clearly has recognised the value of HMR with the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) initiative. We applaud that commitment, however the reality is that any flow-on from the MRFF is some time away. This laudable and visionary plan in no way mitigates the immediate crisis.

We urge you to act now to protect the health and economic benefits which accrue from a sector which returns $2.17 for every $1 invested by arresting the depletion of an expensively trained, highly skilled Australian asset with a proven track record.

We seek an additional investment of $300M into the NHMRC MREA in the 2015 Budget. This would take Government investment into the NHMRC to 1% of the total health spend; our independent economic modelling indicates that this is the first critical step on the path to a sustainable investment model for HMR.

Yours faithfully,

Phoebe Phillips PhD President, The Australian Society for Medical Research

Michael Moore CEO Public Health Association of Australia cc

The Hon Warren Truss MP, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Senator the Hon , Minister for Employment, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Public Service The Hon MP, Treasurer The Hon MP, Minister for Education and Training Senator the Hon Nigel Scullion, Minister for Indigenous Affairs The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP, Minister for Industry and Science The Hon MP, Minister for Communications The Hon MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection The Hon AO MP, Minister for Trade and Investment Senator the Hon , Minister for Finance The Hon MP, Minister for Health, Minister for Sport Senator the Hon Scott Ryan, to the Minister for Education and Training The Hon MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister The Hon Michael McCormack MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance The Hon Kelly O'Dwyer MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer The Hon MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister The Hon MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Science Hon MP, Leader of the Opposition Hon MP, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Senator the Hon , Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment Senator the Hon , Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Defence Hon MP, Shadow Treasurer Hon MP, Shadow Minister for Finance, Manager of Opposition Business Senator the Hon ,Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science Shadow Minister for Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Industry Hon Kate Ellis MP, Shadow Minister for Education, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Hon Catherine King MP, Shadow Minister for Health Hon Shayne Neumann MP, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Shadow Minister for Ageing Hon Brendan O’Connor MP,Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

i

1 Deloitte Access Economics, Returns on NHMRC funded R&D. In: 2011, http://www.asmr.org.au/Publications.html 2 Access Economics, The Value of Investing in Health R&D in Australia II. In: 2008, http://www.asmr.org.au/Publications.html