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Hot topics Wednesday 21 May 2008 ROUNDUP: CSIRO and ANSTO Budget cuts Members of the Australian scientific community respond to recent science funding announcements that direct funding to CSIRO will be cut by $63.4m over the next four years and $10m of savings are needed at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Further information about the CSIRO announcement is available here. The ANSTO announcement is available here (pdf). Any further comments received will be added here. Feel free to use the comments below in your stories. If you would like to speak to an expert, don’t hesitate to contact us on (08) 8207 7415 or by email. Professor Ken Baldwin is President of the Federation of Australian Science and Technological Societies (FASTS) and a physicist at the Australian National University. "FASTS believes that while it is regrettable that such cuts are deemed to be necessary, there is a very high expectation in the science community that the outcome of multiple Government reviews will provide support in next year's budget for a more stable science and technology framework. We hope that the loss of positions in both CSIRO and ANSTO represents savings through efficiency and rationalisation, rather than a long term loss of human capacity in scientific research. Replacement of people with specialised scientific knowledge can take a decade or more once a gap in expertise is identified. The closure of regional nodes by CSIRO, while perhaps representing a reduction in near-market research, may have hidden costs through the removal of highly skilled people in close proximity to the rural users of this research. The reduction in knowledgeable and high calibre scientists from rural communities may also have flow on consequences for encouraging young people to take a more science-informed pathway in their future careers." Ian Lowe is Emeritus Professor of science, technology and society at Griffith University in Queensland. (Ian Lowe is also President of the Australian Conservation Foundation.) "It is disappointing that there have been further cuts in CSIRO's government funding in the recent Budget. Our future as a developed nation, rather than a quarry and a holiday destination, depends on research and innovation. The years of reducing CSIRO's government funding have driven its priorities away from long-term strategic research toward short-term consultancies which the private sector is prepared to fund. There needs to be active consultation between the government and CSIRO to develop a strategic research agenda aimed at our need for clean energy, efficient conversion and more effective water use in agriculture. I have less sympathy for the reduced funding of ANSTO because I have long felt that the level of expenditure on nuclear science is out of proportion to its potential contribution to the nation."
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WOOLLY MAMMOTH DNA DECODED SOIL CARBON ACID OCEANS WATER ISSUES SAFETY OF RECYCLED WATER GENETIC VARIATION LINKED TO TRANSSEXUALISM GENETIC VARIATION LINKED TO TRANSSEXUALISM CLIMATE: URGENT CHALLENGE 2008 PM's PRIZES FOR SCIENCE NEW CONCERNS OVER STEM CELL TOURISM NEW CONCERNS OVER STEM CELL TOURISM AUSTRALIAN FLU EXPERT, GRAEME LAVER, DIES IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES - EXPERTS RESPOND IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES - JANE GOODALL RESPONDS GARNAUT FINAL REPORT - EXPERTS REACT CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS STILL BOOMING - NEW DATA GOOD BACTERIA MAY PROTECT AGAINST DIABETES ECO-LABELS: A THREAT OR AN OPPORTUNITY? GIVING CHILDREN PARACETAMOL INCREASES ASTHMA RISK - LANCET GIVING CHILDREN PARACETAMOL INCREASES ASTHMA RISK - LANCET CHEMICALS IN PLASTICS LINKED TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND DIABETES
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