The Guardian | 13 May 2014
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Overall, the science budget represents a clear change in the government’s priorities, writes Ben Eltham in the Australian edition of The Guardian. Biomedical research is a big winner. Anything that isn’t medical research has suffered….
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It’s a mixed bag for science in Joe Hockey’s first budget. While there are some winners, there are many more losers.
The key announcement is undoubtedly the new $20bn Medical Research Future Fund. Operating like a kind of investment trust, the fund will receive the proceeds from the government’s new $7 GP co-payment.
The money will be invested, and once it reaches $20bn, the profits will be ploughed into medical research, most notably the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Another big win for the science sector is the announcement that the Future Fellowships scheme will continue. There is $140m in new funding for the measure, which supports mid-career researchers looking to build their career as world-class discoverers.
In welcome contrast to pre-budget concerns about cuts to Australia’s Antarctic research, there is $68m in new funding in the budget for Australia’s Antarctic presence (although much of this is support for the crucial air link to the frozen continent). Scientific research will benefit from this support funding.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation gets $31m over four years towards the costs of operating the Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) nuclear research reactor.
There is also bad news. Many federal science agencies received funding cuts. $111m was cut from the CSIRO over the forward estimates. Funding cuts were also slated for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation ($27.5m) and the Australian Institute for Marine Science ($7.8m). The Australian Research Council, which funds much basic research, particularly outside the biomedical sphere, receives a $75m cut over the forward estimates.
Unfortunately, the long-feared cuts to the Cooperative Research Centres did eventuate. Funding for CRCs will be frozen from current funding levels of $148m, and by 2017-18 will decline to $138m, a considerable cut in real terms. The government says that it will save about $124m over the forward estimates by crimping funding for the CRCs and axing the Clean Technology Innovation Program. Still, given the recommendations of the Commission of Audit, many in the sector may be pleased that the program escaped abolition altogether.
Outside of basic science, applied science and research and development takes a big hit. The government will save nearly $850 million over five years by axing a number of significant innovation and commercialisation programs.
The programs to be abolished are:
- Australian Industry Participation;
- Commercialisation Australia;
- Enterprise Solutions;
- Innovation Investment Fund;
- Industry Innovation Councils;
- Enterprise Connect;
- Industry Innovation Precincts;
- Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business and Building Innovative Capability.
Also being abolished, as foreshadowed, is the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The government will save $1.3bn by killing off the clean tech innovation fund, which has acted to support renewable energy projects in their start-up and early stages.
Overall, the science budget represents a clear change in the government’s priorities. Biomedical research is a big winner. Anything that isn’t medical research has suffered.
Environmental programs in particular have been targeted. It’s almost as though the government went looking for programs that featured the words “clean”, “green” or “renewable”.