Vig govt chips in to Canadian synchrotron project

Victoria's government has committed $2 million to a collaboration with Canada aimed at developing synchrotron beamlines.

Innovation Minister John Brumby said the Saskatchewan government and University of Western Ontario were currently seeking matching funds while the University of South Australia was also expected to contribute to the project.

The funds will be put towards sending Australian scientists to Canada later this year to assist in the creation of a beamline for the Canadian Light Source project.

Brumby said the knowledge they gained from working on the project could then be applied when the Australian synchrotron's beamlines and instrumentation stations were built in 2004.

"I am delighted to announce that the Bracks Government is fully prepared to advance this collaborative project once Canadian funding is complete," Brumby said.

"These beamlines will be of particular relevance to the Canadian and Australian minerals sectors, enabling research that will drive development of this key wealth creating sector in both countries."

It is understood the $2 million, if matched by an equivalent sum, would be sufficient to produce a useful beamline.

The announcement, made at Bio 2002 in Toronto, comes a week after the Victorian Auditor-General warned of a potential funding shortfall in the National Synchrotron Project.

The report said the government's commitment to pitch in $100 million left a gap of $57 million in the estimated completion costs, with no indication as to where the extra money would be sourced.