The CSIRO Staff Association has slammed the Albanese Labor Government for being responsible for deep and devastating cuts to the CSIRO, after it was today announced that more than 300 more jobs would be cut from Australia’s peak science agency.
With more than 800 research and science support roles already lost, these cuts now surpass those delivered by the Abbott Government.
This is the latest in a series of cuts over the past 18 months. It started with the cutting of more than 400 science support roles, and more recently, 120 positions from CSIRO’s digital and data arm, Data61, were cut; the Agriculture and Food Research Unit has lost 30 staff, and Health and Biosecurity has lost 43.
It was confirmed in the CSIRO’s most recent Senate Estimates appearance that a total of 818 jobs had already been cut across the whole organisation.
The CSIRO Staff Association is calling on the Federal Government to act now. Urgent funding is needed to stop these cuts and secure the vital work of our national science agency.
“This is a very sad day for publicly funded science in this country, and the Albanese Government is just sitting back and watching it happen.
“They are now responsible for cuts to public science that exceed the Abbott Government – cuts that current Labor MPs rightly slammed at the time.
“These are some the worst cuts the CSIRO has ever seen, and they’re coming at a time when we should be investing in and building up public science.
“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 don’t need a crystal ball to know these cuts will hurt – they’ll hurt families, farmers and our future.
“The Albanese Labor Government needs to fix this mess by committing to urgent funding that halts the cuts and secures the future of CSIRO’s world-leading science and research.”