Q: When is a Diversion of Funds Not a Diversion.    A: When We Say It Isn't. (February 22, 2007)

Those CSIRO Flagships are in the frame again.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT, WORKPLACE RELATIONS AND EDUCATION

WEDNESDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2007

 EWRE Page 32

Senator CARR (Kim Carr: Labor, Victoria) —I see. How much extra revenue will you now need to divert from divisional research budgets to meet your projected growth plans for the flagships?

Dr Sandland (Dr Ron Sandland, Deputy Chief Executive) —The research that is carried out in the flagships is in fact carried out within divisions. We are using the flagships to focus our research on a number of key national challenges. In doing so, we are not diverting funds from divisions so much as having divisions participate in the success of the flagships, and that is an ongoing process.


EWRE Page 34

Senator CARR—Are you able to provide me with a table showing, on both an annual and a cumulative basis since the flagship program commenced four years ago, what funding has been redirected from each of the divisions to flagships and to which flagships that money actually went?

Mr Whelan— (Mr Mike Whelan, Chief Finance Officer, and Executive Director, Corporate Operations) We could probably come close to that. In terms of money redirected from divisions, no, we will not be able to do that because we have not redirected money from divisions. Divisions and flagships both generate proposals for investment and then they get funded. If your question goes to what is the amount of investment and what is the source of it for each of the flagships, we can provide you with that data.

From Prime Minister John Howard's Forward to Backing Australia's Ability II

The Government will provide $305 million over the next seven years (2004/05 to 20010/11) as the basis for [CSIRO] National Research Flagships funding. This amount will be matched by $710 million in redirected CSIRO funding and $446 million in external funding respectively over the seven years.

Perhaps the redirection was from CSIRO Headquarters' administrative costs.