When Will The Howard Government Get Fair Dinkum About The CSIRO And Australian Science? Kim Carr - Shadow Minister for Science and Research Shadow Minister for the Public Service

Media Statement - 27 June 2003

Once again, the Howard government is unreasonably asking this country's top scientists to do more with less.

The Prime Minister announced today that scientists from the nation's top public research agency, the CSIRO, will be among those seconded to set up a Science, Engineering and Technology Unit for the National Security Division in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

John Howard said that Australia's scientists had "an important role to play" in finding solutions to security problems post-September 11 and the Bali bombings.

The Shadow Minister for Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, said Labor agreed the nation's scientists play a critical role in the defence of the nation, as they do in the future of the nation.

But Senator Carr said the Howard Government continued to neglect the full potential of CSIRO, and had starved Australian science of funding over the past seven years.

It has cut CSIRO's budget, and jobs have been lost as a result – now the Government wants CSIRO to do more!

A 10 per cent cut has been imposed across the entire agency, with further cuts in store as the organisation struggles to fund its recent enterprise bargaining round. The CSIRO's traditional triennium (three-year) funding was knocked back for the second year in a row in this year's Federal Budget.

CSIRO Chief Executive Geoff Garrett said in an internal memo today that staffing would remain static over the coming year.

How can the CSIRO do its own work, and that of the Government, if that is the case?