Australasian Science, April 2004
© Copyright

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Excerpts from: CSIRO in Bed with Tobacco Lobbyist
 

Peter Pockley questions why CSIRO has appointed a new Communications Director with a long record defending the tobacco industry.

[Donna] Staunton has simply moved from the unadvertised contract of internal "consultant" (May 2003) to Acting Director on 23 October 2003 for four days per week and, now, appointment full-time to the advertised post on 1 March 2004. The fees for headhunters, Korn/Ferry, were $100,000. This was enough to pay for a scientist's salary. 

The leader of communications for the nation's largest research agency should have had a proven track record as skilful communicator of science, preferably in mainstream media, with preference to an applicant who also had qualifications in science and had worked in a large scientific institution. These criteria should have been specified in the job description of June 2003, but Sandland justified these omissions by claiming that CSIRO needed someone who had skills in "managing people".

"Professional" PR people may claim that they are able to work for any client, like a lawyer accepting any brief, but it is hard to see how this applies with Staunton due to her controversial work in the tobacco industry. Not to have required achievement in science communication in the most responsible institutional post in Australia - and the highest paid - diminishes the standing of the appointee within CSIRO.

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Dr Peter Pockley is Senior Correspondent for Australasian Science.