An Auditor-General's report has criticised a $1 billion innovation packaged announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.Credit:AAP
He reserved his strongest criticism for the supposed economic benefits of the package,which was,among other things,supposed to improve the commercialisation of research.
"A number of the proposals that involved significant expenditure aimed at transforming parts of the innovation system[and] relied on assertions rather than evidence. There was no specific guidance on the standard of evidence required to support individual measures or the package as whole,"the report found.
The $1.1 billion policy included $459 million over four years for research infrastructure,$106 million in tax incentives for people who invest in the early stages of research commercialisation and $15 million for the CSIRO's innovation fund.
The policy was a cornerstone of Mr Turnbull's early period as Prime Minister,when he consistently promoted the concepts of"innovation"and"agility"as central to Australia's success.