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News & Views item -
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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.