Did CSIRO Executives Mislead Senate Committee? (June 30, 2004)

    In its forthcoming July issue Australasian Science reports that CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Geoff Garrett and his Deputy, Dr Ron Sandland, gave incorrect or incomplete answers to the Senate in an Estimates hearing on 2 June.

CSIRO recently appointed as Director of Communications, Ms Donna Staunton, has in fact not publicly retracted comments she made about the non-addictiveness of nicotine while serving as Chief Executive of the Tobacco Institute of Australia. CSIRO told the Senate that a letter Ms Staunton wrote to “a noted antismoking campaigner” was a public repudiation of her stance and presented no barrier to her appointment. However, Australasian Science reports the addressee, Professor Simon Chapman of the University of Sydney, maintains: “Staunton’s letter to me was private and I only copied it as such, for information, to the Australian Cancer Society board and one or two others”.

So far as we know the Senate has not requested a please explain from either Dr Garrett or Dr Sandland or whether or not it considers the matter of particular consequence.