The CSIRO has embarked on deep and devastating job cuts to our national science agency. With more than 800 jobs already gone, and another 300+ cuts announced, these cuts now surpass those delivered by the Abbott Government.
Labor rightly spoke out against CSIRO job cuts when Abbott was in power. Now they’re in government, Labor needs to commit to urgent funding that stops the cuts and secures public science and research.
CSIRO undertakes incredibly important work that benefits Australian families, communities, and the world. Our scientists are protecting crops from disease, building national resilience in the face of a changing climate, strengthening our defences against biosecurity risks, and driving innovation in health and technology.
We are calling on the Albanese Government to act now to secure the future of CSIRO’s world-leading science and research.
Science and Technology Australia: These funding cuts at CSIRO are disappointing and a step in the wrong direction for Australia’s research system. Our national science agency has today announced cuts of up to 350 full-time equivalent research roles and that some research activities will be deprioritised to ensure a sustainable future for the organisation… read more here.
Australian Academy of Science: The entire sector has been struggling during the last five years. Thousands of jobs have been lost in the university sector and course CSIRO is now cutting, and the ANSTO as I understand is also going through some challenges. The current government announced 18 months ago the Strategic Examination of R&D [SERD]. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to look at where our science is, where there is duplication, where the gaps are and the direction we want to go as a nation… read more here.
Universities Australia: News this week of job cuts at our national science agency, the CSIRO , are very alarming… It shouldn’t be this way. Australia’s scientists are national heroes, working every day to find the solutions and breakthroughs that make our country safe and successful. We are continually told, by experts and governments, that we need more R&D to support our future, yet the under-funding of this critical activity threatens our very progress… read more here.
Lack of opposition
George Brandis may have convinced himself that the Liberal Party is not splitting, but they certainly show all the characteristics of a sinking ship (“Libs not splitting, it’s just a debate”, November 24). Instead of spending so much time plotting the downfall of their current skipper, they could always try acting like a true opposition and hold the government to account. Meanwhile, it’s being left to independents like David Pocock to point out the madness of sacking hundreds of scientists from the CSIRO, at a time when the government claims to be serious about tackling the challenges of climate change.
Nick Franklin, Katoomba
War on science
At school, I was among girls streamed into chemistry, physics and maths in Years 11 and 12 to bolster women’s participation in science. I later completed a BSc, only to find few jobs available. Science graduates were advised to complete an additional qualification which could lead to work, such as teaching or optometry, or to go overseas for employment. Since then, the CSIRO has been repeatedly cut. Apart from the most recent cuts (“CSIRO job cuts due to waste, not underfunding, ex-senior staff say”, November 24), its staff association has reported that more than 1200 employees left between 2014 and 2016 under the Coalition. In 2016, CSIRO management announced its shift from “public good science” to research with “immediate prospects for commercialisation”, which led to 350 world-leading scientists being unceremoniously sacked. This pattern highlights a prolonged failure to value scientific literacy and expertise in Australia. Our parliaments are packed with lawyers and political graduates but devoid of scientifically trained MPs, yet they preside over complex climate and energy policies. The promotion of STEM subjects may well suffer from a similar lack of solid support, despite the environmental and other crises confronting today’s world.
Barbara Chapman, South Yarra (Vic)
Govt’s case for slashing CSIRO jobs doesn’t make sense
It was shocking to hear that the CSIRO is to slash 350 jobs. The jobs are to go next year for want of government funding. In addition, more than 800 jobs have already been shed over 18 months to save money. Senator Pocock remarks, “It is incredibly disappointing to hear that CSIRO may have to cut up to 350 jobs, including vital research roles because the government isn’t providing our national science agency needs.” Cutting research is no way to save money. Research is a necessary investment in the future. It works. Just look at how chairman Deng Xiaoping lifted 600 million Chinese out of poverty as his policies transformed China from a poor nation into the tech giant of today. Funding research has always been amply repaid. A visit to the CSIRO website reveals the enormous unquantifiable benefits its research has provided for Australia and the world. Surely a billion or so could be squeezed from the project to build us nuclear-powered submarines? The cut will never be noticed from the overall $368 billion they are to cost.
Harry Davis, Campbell
Argument is flawed
The economic austerity sadly continues under the Albanese Labor government, with 350 jobs set to be axed at the CSIRO. Why? Because the federal government apparently has to be “fiscally sustainable” and “balance its books”. This is a nonsense economic argument that has been deceiving the population for the past 45 years. We need to wake up to the fact that the currency-issuing federal government is not at all run like a household. It actually needs to run a deficit so that we the people can enjoy a surplus. And no, keeping those 350 jobs will not cause runaway inflation. Economic vandalism or economic stupidity? Equal measures of both are in play here.
Terry Gibson, Kambah
CSIRO cut is a lobotomy
Of all the monumentally idiotic decisions governments make, the decision to cut 300 to 350 research positions from the CSIRO must rank among the most monumental of all. A fundamental underpinning of neoliberalism, that everything is a business whose sole purpose is profit, was perfectly described by Tony Abbott when he declared that Australia was open for business and everything was for sale. Successive neoliberal governments including the current one have eagerly followed his mantra – the ABC, our universities, and now the CSIRO. Our nation is performing a lobotomy on itself.
Fred Pilcher, Kaleen
Support the CSIRO
As a retired CSIRO scientist, the pending job cuts to Australia’s premier research agency is depressing to read about (″CSIRO to slash hundreds of jobs″, 19/11). Research is a highly creative activity – it produces new products, creates new jobs and new industries, increases productivity, and makes a large contribution to our economic growth and our overall national welfare. Australia has a proud history of innovation, but as a percentage of GDP, funding to CSIRO has declined by the factor of five over the past 40 years. Why is the federal government spending billions propping up ageing industries instead of supporting the research that will help solve problems and define and shape our future?
Robert Campbell, Brighton East
Wherefore the scientists?
After acquiring my research training in a well-regarded US university, I then had the great honour of working for the CSIRO for 30 years. The organisation has been part of Australian life for almost 100 years, and, by weight of its local and global achievements, has won the respect and support of Australian and international audiences. It is unimaginable and unforgivable that more than 1100 research jobs will soon have been cut from the organisation in little more than a year. By comparison, recent deep cuts at Harvard University were restricted to administrative staff, leaving faculty numbers untouched. The university recognises that it survives by the feats of its scientists.
Despite its many achievements, in recent decades the CSIRO has become too quick to pander to its bureaucrats and administrators at the expense of the research teams. For any serious research organisation, the primacy of its scientists should be paramount; they are the driving force behind its success. With its current strategy, the CSIRO will soon have offices replete with administrative staff but nary a scientist in sight.
Ken McColl, East Geelong
There was never a truer statement than “when Australia loses talent and research programs, we lose the opportunity to make life-changing discoveries” More than 10 years ago, my son left Australia to pursue an academic career in science in America. Australian taxpayers paid for his PhD, but there was no career pathway available for a keen post-doctoral student, despite his months of searching. He is now a professor running his own lab in an American university and all his groundbreaking research has been lost to this country. The undervaluing of science has been a long-standing problem in this country, over successive governments. I had high hopes for the Albanese government and Tim Ayres as the minister for science, but this latest catastrophe at the CSIRO is nothing short of heartbreaking.
Josie McSkimming, Coogee
CSIRO cuts are the worst
Of all this week’s disturbing news stories, the decision to cut staff at the CSIRO was the worst. Over the past 20 years or more the constant cry has been for Australia to better value science and research. How many times do we need to learn that vital services need to be publicly funded and managed? I would be interested in knowing what fields of research are no longer a priority, and where the scientists engaged in these areas will go after leaving the CSIRO.
Jill Napier, Phegans Bay
What a waste
We encourage our brightest to study the rigours of STEM, undertake a PhD, win those competitive grants and forgo the rewards of private enterprise to work for the public good. Then we treat them like disposable towels. Just when the world needs them most. What a waste.
Catherine Doherty, Long Beach
The CSIRO should be about science, not survival
The announcement of 300-350 research job cuts at CSIRO (“CSIRO to slash hundreds of jobs”, 19/11), following 800 support jobs lost last year isn’t just devastating news for those affected. It’s the latest chapter in a three-decade pattern of instability that has crippled our premier research institution. CSIRO chief Doug Hilton calls this “fundamentally unsustainable”, pointing to funding that has grown at 1.3 per cent annually while inflation averaged 2.7 per cent. He’s right about the unsustainability – but not in the way he means. What’s unsustainable is this endless cycle where each “solution” becomes tomorrow’s “problem”, creating perpetual justification for the next round of upheaval.
The pattern is clear: from former CEOs, Malcolm McIntosh’s commercialisation mandate created the competitive neutrality crisis. Geoff Garrett’s flagship programs created the divisional hollowing-out that Megan Clark tried to fix through consolidation. Clark’s cuts contributed to the capability gaps that Larry Marshall tried to address through his dramatic reshaping. Now Hilton’s cuts promise to reduce CSIRO to its pre-COVID size while somehow finding $80-135 million annually for infrastructure upgrades.
Senior scientists report being “in the black” just two years ago. COVID funding brought young researchers in “with a lot of promises”, only to let them go when the money ran out. Now remaining staff face Christmas without knowing if they’ll have jobs in January, while being told to focus on climate change, clean energy, and AI – worthy priorities, but delivered through yet another wrenching reorganisation.
Our researchers – among the world’s finest – deserve better than performing in corporate theatre while their vital work suffers. The public deserves a CSIRO that can focus on science rather than survival. Until we recognise that constant change has become the problem rather than the solution, our national research institution will continue to waste its most precious resource – the talent and dedication of its scientists – on an endless carousel of restructuring rather than the vital research our nation desperately needs.
It’s time to break this destructive cycle and give CSIRO the stability it needs to fulfil its critical mission.
Professor David Fox, former Senior Research Scientist, Project Leader, Program Leader, Business Director, CSIRO (1993-2006), Beaumaris
Work beyond politicians’ comprehension
What an incredibly sad day it is to again read of the forthcoming slashing of research positions in our revered CSIRO. And this because our political masters seem unable to comprehend the value and need of adequate budgeting to maintain a world-class scientific agency in Australia. For many years, CSIRO has punched well above its weight in leading global research. It is particularly disturbing to read that research endeavours which may be curtailed include manufacturing and data science. Surely, it is areas such as these, where Australia has always played a lead in global research and which have huge potential for our national profit, that must be supported and nourished by our government.
Dr David G. Hay, (retired CSIRO scientist), Greensborough
Truly, this is a brainless move
CSIRO plans to cut 350 jobs this year on top of 800 last year and on top of the 1100 under Tony Abbott when he was prime minister. It’s like an episode of Yes, Minister when they got rid of the staff and patients; the hospitals ran perfectly efficiently without either. If we are not to remain a country that makes its living from digging up and selling unimproved dirt (think coal, iron ore, gas and oil) we must develop an innovative scientific sector. Advances always come from years of patient research and are the result of teams who have developed the means over many years – on average for every dollar spent on CSIRO research, $3.50 are earned and often a new gold mine is unearthed (think Wi-Fi) – not a bad long-term investment. Slashing the ability of our major research institute is cutting ourselves off at the brain.
Greg Tanner, retired CSIRO scientist, Elwood
Mad decision
This is total lunacy (“CSIRO to slash hundreds of jobs”, 19/11). To develop ways to efficiently and sustainably generate power, produce food, and re-establish communities and economies destroyed by a hostile environment, we’re going to need all the scientific intel we can gather. As the disruption from COVID lingers, crippling avian flu strains circle Australia seeking a point of entry via migratory birds. Toxic algal blooms and marine heatwaves threaten the viability of our sea. Our nature’s gifts, once so rich and rare, are disintegrating. Moreover, in light of the enormous contribution CSIRO has made to our development over the past 100 years, to allow the structure and workforce of this vital scientific body to run down borders on gross negligence.
John Mosig, Kew
Not very clever
At a time that the Trump administration is slashing funding for science and health research, our government should be enticing their scientists to come here.
Instead we are slashing jobs in the CSIRO. So much for being the clever country. Very disappointing from a Labor government.
George Djoneff, Mitcham
Gradual decline
The bad news is that CSIRO is about to sack 300 to 350 people, about 10 per cent of all its science staff. The ″good news″ is that Minister for Science Tim Ayres has ″de-prioritised’ certain areas, so that the focus of CSIRO research can be shifted. The real story is that over the decades successive Australian governments have reduced the spending on CSIRO from 0.16 per cent of GDP in 1978-79 to just 0.03 per cent now. All this at a time when the Chinese government has increased its spending on science to an all-time high.
Our current prosperity, and the world, owes so much to past discoveries by CSIRO. Just a few examples: Wi-Fi, polymer (plastic banknotes), the development of the Relenza flu treatment, Aerogard, extended wear contact lenses, and the Hendra vaccine for horses and cattle.
Let us hope that our minister for (less) science is especially talented at forecasting where scientific breakthroughs will come. Otherwise, Australia will miss out on the discovery of new technologies that could change our world.
Perhaps the Chinese government will be good enough to sell them to us?
Lorraine Williams, Parkdale
Blame the subs
CSIRO is being poorly funded in spite of its many accomplishments and its crucial role in maintaining our scientific edge in a competitive world.
If it was not for the AUKUS albatross we could hire more scientists with funds left over for low cost tertiary education, a dignified JobSeeker allowance and adequate support for those fleeing domestic violence, etc.
Barry Lizmore, Ocean Grove
Brain drain
With the sacking of 350 research scientists at CSIRO is the government attempting to increase the numbers of Australians emigrating? The brain drain continues.
Joan Segrave, Healesville
Switch to hi-vis
CSIRO. It’s clearly an image problem with Anthony Albanese’s government. I suggest the scientists ditch their lab coats and don hi-vis vests. Then they will matter.
Pamela Lloyd, Brunswick West
Wrong
Something is wrong when the government doesn’t sufficiently fund the CSIRO, yet continues to increase subsidies for fossil fuel producers.
Annie Wilson, Inverloch