Liberal frontbencher Wyatt Roy says the government's approach to innovation funding policy should ideally be as varied as a lavish Mexican feast.

Speaking on the ABC's Q and A program last night, the Assistant Minister for Innovation was called out by audience member Peter Cooper over the government's $1.1 billion commitment to the "innovation agenda".

"Why aren't we supporting (start-ups) in the budget statement and innovation statement? Why are we doing slow lane innovation strategies?" Mr Cooper asked, prompting a long, rhetoric-heavy answer from Mr Roy about a "cultural shift" and "acceptance of failure".

But Mr Cooper, taking umbrage with the government's plan to tie what funding there is to university programs rather than the private sector, raised his hand to politely interrupt.

Peter Cooper. (Screengrab)

"I agree with most of the things you said, Wyatt," Mr Cooper said.

"But the money doesn't match the words mate. Uber's doing four times what you'd put over four years in four months."

"It's not only Uber," host Tony Jones chimed in.

"Samsung, one company, one year (will spend) $18.6 billion in research and development," Mr Jones said. "Compare that to $250 million a year the government has put out."

Forced to reach for a new analogy, Mr Roy tried to explain, through the universal language of Latin American cuisine, that both university programs and start-ups could be funded, as long as the policy attracts private interests as intended.

No se...Mr Cooper's chilli response to Mr Roy's analogy. (Screengrab)

"You know that taco ad where you've got the girl where everyone's arguing about whether you want hard tacos or soft tacos, and she turns around and says 'well why can't we have both'," Mr Roy said as Mr Cooper buried his face in his hands.

"If you look at incredible innovation hubs across the globe," the fresh-faced member for Longman said, referring to Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv, which purportedly has the world's highest rate of entrepreneur per capita.