CSIRO cuts opposed by Greens and Labor

Fairfax Media has revealed that science body CSIRO is bracing for a May budget cut of up $150 million, or more than 20% of its total government funding, with the organisation’s top executive team modelling a range of scenarios based around this outcome.

The article claims that the federal government’s Commission of Audit will recommend significant savings. Fairfax Media previously reported that Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has been told to find up to $2 billion in savings in his portfolio, which includes science.

The Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on Science, Senator Kim Carr, has claimed that cuts of this magnitude, if correct, would be “a travesty for science policy and scientific research in Australia”.

“While the government’s Commission of Audit report remains secret, it is clear that the CSIRO management is responding to political signals in anticipating a major blow to its operating budget,” he said.

“Last week we saw reports of another 300 CSIRO jobs to be cut, in addition to the hundreds more at risk because of the government’s recruitment freeze.”

Senator Carr claimed that the value of CSIRO’s work is “almost immeasurable”, with some of its contributions to Australia including solar hot water, gene shears, Wi-Fi and the flu jab. The organisation is currently working on advancing aquaculture feed and prawn breeding, protecting Australia’s defence force with innovative body armour and transforming the cotton industry.

“By treating that work with such utter contempt, the government is doing great harm to Australia’s national interest and putting us at an immense disadvantage in the highly competitive international science community,” Senator Carr said.

Greens deputy leader and science spokesperson Adam Bandt MP claimed that if CSIRO suffers cuts of 15-20%, “Australia’s prosperity will suffer”.

“Many areas of our society, whether it’s agriculture, land and water, energy, food futures, health, digital productivity or ecosystems, stand to be adversely affected if CSIRO is defunded in this way,” he stated.

Bandt believes that “the parliament and the public will not support research cuts”. He points to the Greens’ Respect Research campaign, launched earlier this year, which currently features 15,487 signatures from people calling on the government to respect research as fundamental to Australia’s health and prosperity.

“Last time the government threatened cuts to the research budget, thousands of scientists donned their lab coats and took to the streets,” he said.

“The Greens are putting Tony Abbott on notice that if he cuts research, he should expect the mother of all battles.”