Australia's scientists react to the Budget

The 2014-15 Budget will affect several areas of science, provoking comments from experts involved in the industry.

One of the more well-received announcements was the establishment of a $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund, which will provide additional funding for medical research. According to Professor Brendan Crabb, president of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI), “Creation of this $20 billion fund into perpetuity is amongst the most significant initiatives in the history of medical research in Australia … [providing] the stability needed to encourage our best and brightest to go into medical research.”

The government also announced a $95.9 million, four-year plan to finalise Australia’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. The move was praised by Professor Ian Olver, Cancer Council Australia CEO, who said, “Our research shows the government’s commitment to bring the program’s full implementation date forward by 14 years will prevent at least 35,000 bowel cancer deaths over the next 40 years.”

The Australian Academy of Science welcomed the government’s target to double National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) spending by 2022, new spending on the Future Fellowships program for mid-career researchers, additional support for the Agricultural R&D corporations, the continuation of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and a new commitment to the academy’s education programs Primary Connections and Science by Doing.

However, Academy President Professor Suzanne Cory noted that “overall, funding for science and research continues to decline”. There will be cuts made to several science organisations and programs, including the Australian Research Council ($74.9 million), the Defence Science and Technology Organisation ($120 million), the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation ($27.6 million), the Australian Institute of Marine Science ($7.8 million) and the Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) program ($80 million).

In addition, a prediction made by Fairfax Media in April, which claimed CSIRO was facing cuts, proved to come true, with $111.4 million to be removed from the CSIRO budget over four years. Dr Michael Borgas, acting secretary of the CSIRO Section of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), showed his opposition to the decision.

“These funding cuts to CSIRO are short-sighted and destructive,” Dr Borgas said. “They will do lasting harm to CSIRO and the capacity to deliver new inventions and crucial research for the next generation of Australians.

“These budget cuts will mean more science workers will lose their jobs and more important research will not be done. CSIRO management might be faced with the terrible prospect of getting out of some areas of research altogether.”

Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane stated that the government is “investing strategically in projects that will have long-term, ongoing benefits to the nation” while at the same time “making decisions that repair the Budget, strengthen the economy and prepare Australia for the long-term challenges before us”.

But Professor Cory argued, “We need to increase our science investment now and grow it for decades to come. The commitment to medical research needs to be matched in the rest of the science sector or we will not be able to meet Australia’s big challenges.”