Just How Much Importance Does Kevin Rudd Place on Science. (July 3, 2009)

On May 13 TFW reproduced the Executive Director of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Society's (FAST) assessment of the 2009-10 federal budget's impact on research and higher education.

With the publication this week of the July issue of Australasian Science Peter Pockley summarises the budget's positive affect on Australian science but notes some disturbing aspects regarding the treatment of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Across all portfolios with a science and innovation component, the budget for 2009-10 is $8.59 billion, a 25% increase of $1.71 billion over 2008-09, which is equivalent to 2.75% of total government expenditure. International comparisons with the total R&D spend (from government, higher education and industry) as a proportion of GDP are not yet available but the new government component has jumped from 0.57% last year to 0.73%, placing Australia in the mid-range of OECD countries... This restores government R&D to levels of 16 years ago... Further increases are committed over the subsequent 3 years totalling $5.7 billion, of which $3.1 billion will go to research in universities.

Despite the caveats as to the overall distribution of the funding it is a remarkable turnaround compared to the attrition perpetrated by John Howard's Coalition government in both funding and attitude.

Nevertheless the table reproduced below injects a degree of ambivalence in that CSIRO appears to be being elbowed to the side -- a far cry from years past when a CSIRO Chief justified his support for basic research in his division by citing that those researchers could be drawn upon by him when challenged by an unexpected problem (say by the government of the day) that required fundamental knowledge and thinking outside the square.

From Australasian Science, July 2009

Finally, after the June meeting of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) which is chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Penny Sackett, she was interviewed for Australasian Science by Simon Grose who notes: "Part of her strategy is to change the agenda of PMSEIC meetings that are attended by the PM and 11 Cabinet Ministers or their proxies (our emphasis).

When TFW phoned a spokeswomen, shortly after Professor Sackett issued a media release about the meeting, and ask just how many and whom of the ministers were represented by proxies, we were told that she was not in a position to furnish that information.