CANBERRA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Australia's economic growth is being jeopardized by falling investment in research and development (R&D), a government-appointed expert panel has said.

Ed Husic, the Minister for Science and Industry, on Wednesday released a discussion paper from the panel appointed by the government in December to review Australia's R&D system.

The panel, led by Tesla Motors chair Robyn Denholm, warned that Australia is "virtually giving away" its world-leading research to other countries and reaping little economic benefit.

The discussion paper said that Australia's investment R&D has fallen to 1.66 percent of the gross domestic product compared to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 2.7 percent.

Business investment in R&D has fallen by more than a third since 2009, the paper said, and small to medium enterprises now account for 55 percent of business R&D.

The authors described Australia's economy as "one of the least differentiated in the world" and said the country is being "left behind".

"Australian research is being developed into globally transformational technologies - most often by other countries," the paper said.

Husic said in a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra that the Australian economy is increasingly reliant on a narrow set of industries "supported by outmoded and fragile supply chains".

"Our science leads the world, but we are giving it away virtually for free," he said.

Denholm, who succeeded Elon Musk as chair of Tesla in 2018, said the expert panel wants to hear from people all across Australia as it seeks to unlock the "immense potential" of the country's research.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the panel is not expected to hand down its final report until after the general election, which must be held by May. Enditem

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