Ms Bishop and the Guessing Game. (February 7, 2006)

    Since taking over as Minister for Education, Science and Training Julie Bishop has, from a public viewpoint, been rather like Brer Rabbit, lyin' low and saying very little.*  She  has told the media that she has been receiving a lot of gratuitous advice which is unlikely to have come as a surprise.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, who never looks comfortable in the presence of highly intelligent women, nevertheless was forced into appointing Ms Bishop to a cabinet position.

Julie Bishop

Morag Fraser

 And with Brendan Nelson straining in the traces to get away from the seething students and academics, Education, Science and Training was the obvious place to put the Costello supporter.

Now the canny Morag Fraser, adjunct professor in the school of humanities and social sciences at La Trobe University, has voiced her views in an 800 word opinion piece in yesterday's Age. But even she is reduced to a guessing game.

She like Bradley Smith, Executive Director of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies, points out that one of the major items of unfinished business left by Dr Nelson is the Research Quality Framework (RQF), ostensibly a mechanism to apportion federal research funding to universities and the publicly funded research facilities, and which Dr Nelson hinted would also be used as a tool to allow greater ministerial direction of the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.

But the details of the form of the RQF remain highly contentious and those institutions that see themselves as potential losers in the shake out won't be slow in revoicing their views now that they have a new "minder" to address.

Both Morag Fraser and Bradley Smith believe that Ms Bishop will not ditch the Research Quality Framework. But just how independent of thought she is, and how strong an advocate for basic and strategic research will be shown by how she deals with the RQF.

Dr Nelson's approach to higher education and science resembled that of a contractor who in undertaking renovations decides that the structural beams of the building are superfluous. Perhaps Ms Bishop is taking some time to think about what really needs to be done for and with the institutions DEST's portfolio includes.

[Note added February 8: Ms Bishop's office told The Austeralian last night she was considering advice on the Research Quality Framework. "The Research Quality Framework is part of the Australian Government's $8.3 billion Backing Australia's Ability packages and details of the initiatives under this commitment will be announced in due course," a spokeswoman said.]

*Julie Bishop has also been appointed the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues. She is the most recent cabinet minister to speak out, in favour of stripping away the minister's right to control the abortion drug, RU486.