No Science Minister

[Rorschach]

'This is just insanity': four Nobel laureates let fly over Australian science funding
Date January 30, 2015 - 11:20AM

Four of the nation's most-renowned scientists have spoken to The Australian Financial Review about their concerns for Australian science and our ability to compete as an innovation economy.

What Nobel prize winners Elizabeth Blackburn, Brian Schmidt, Peter Doherty and Barry Marshall had to say about innovation funding in a nation historically responsible for a range of world-beating scientific advancements was often scathing.

Each holds fears for Australia's global competitiveness, at a time when, as described by the AFR, "it comes to investment in science, Australia is in reverse as other countries floor the accelerator".

Here's a selection of quotes from the Nobel laureates about Australia's investment in science and our economic future. For the full story, read: How ignoring science damns our economy at the AFR.


ELIZABETH BLACKBURN (joint Nobel prize in physiology or medicine in 2009)

"How could Australia not think of investing heavily in science? This is just insanity. The fact that the natural resources boom is fading away – it's foolishness."

"I come back and have these marvellous science conversations and I talk to really, really bright people, but they're under-used. They don't groan. They just do the best they can."

"Australia needs to invest in science. It's a bigger picture than politics. Prime ministers come and go. National policies can be developed in a much less politicised way and be much more forward looking, whoever the prime minister happens to be."

"There needs to be a very serious investment because you have all this scientific talent. If you look at the track record of countries that have invested in science, it's obvious, it works."


BRIAN SCHMIDT (joint Nobel prize in physics in 2011)

"I'm scratching my head and losing sleep at night about that in a way that I haven't before."

"It's unclear to me whether or not we will continue to be a great astronomy nation."

"If we lose [our] advantage, are we going to replace that with something else? We damn well better be or we're going backwards."

"If we're damaged it will take 20 years to fix ourselves. It only takes one year to cause 20 years of damage."


PETER DOHERTY (joint Nobel prize in physiology or medicine in 1996)

"The celebration of science in Australia is pretty thin."

"Basic science is done through public funding. It can't be left up to the magic of the market. It doesn't work in innovation."

"We still have high quality universities. If we keep cutting back on that sector we're going to lose it. It's sad."

"Australia, because of its location and the fact it's an open Western country, really has tremendous potential to be an innovation hub."


BARRY MARSHALL (joint Nobel prize in physiology or medicine in 2005)

"There's a layer of administration and bureaucracy that sits on top of original scientific research that almost doubles the cost or more."

There's "not the priority given to academic and scientific pursuit in Australia by politicians and government".

"We need to raise some political pressure and educate politicians."

"[In Singapore] their resources are their people and they say: 'What are they going to do? We want to give them something interesting to do and have them doing things that are going to be white-collar, high-value jobs with some product coming out of it.' "

Fairfax Media

[Super Nova]

Sorry Roach.. missed this one.

This has to be one of the most important topics for Australia. We have for too long not had a long term vision. We must be the clever country again and not just let's dig it up or grow it and sell raw resources for smarter countries to add value and sell it back to us and to the rest of the world. How short sighted we are.

We could be a technology powerhouse and lead in many areas of science and innovation. We have the people. We don't have the support for them.

The one that pisses me orf is we were at the cutting edge of computing in the 50s/60s and let it go. We were at the cutting edge of aerospace and did the same.

Let's just sell the continent to china and hope they pay us enough to live in servitude to foreigners and hope they are benevolent. That's were we are going. We could be a mini-US ... but we choose to be a mini-nothing.

Hats off to the scientists for having a go......... at the government.

[mantra]

Sorry Roach.. missed this one.

This has to be one of the most important topics for Australia. We have for too long not had a long term vision. We must be the clever country again and not just let's dig it up or grow it and sell raw resources for smarter countries to add value and sell it back to us and to the rest of the world. How short sighted we are.

We could be a technology powerhouse and lead in many areas of science and innovation. We have the people. We don't have the support for them.

The one that pisses me orf is we were at the cutting edge of computing in the 50s/60s and let it go. We were at the cutting edge of aerospace and did the same.

Let's just sell the continent to china and hope they pay us enough to live in servitude to foreigners and hope they are benevolent. That's were we are going. We could be a mini-US ... but we choose to be a mini-nothing.

Hats off to the scientists for having a go......... at the government.

This is a sad fact. Our scientists and inventors have so much to offer Australia, but with no support or interest from Federal and state governments, they take their motivation, innovation and intelligence overseas where it's appreciated. This wasn't always the case, but Australia is more like a factory farm these days. Supplying the most basic goods and services to rich foreigners is all we're useful for now and we're even failing at that as our unemployment figures continue to rise.

[Rorschach]

Personally I think we need a Science and Innovation Minister.
It's about time both sides of politics started thinking about the future and supporting our future now.

[Neferti]

I've always complained that Aussie Scientists (and others) have "discovered" a lot of things but then the Americans take the kudos because we don't finance the development of the discovery.

Australians are very innovative and Joe Blow out on the farm has even "invented" some things that never get off the ground in Australia. This is a crying shame.

[boxy]

An award-winning evolutionary biologist has turned down the most prestigious research fellowship for young scientists in the country in frustration at funding cuts.

Dr Danielle Edwards specialises in reptiles and researches how genetic diversity is affected by factors like the environment.

...

Recently she was invited to apply for a position at the CSIRO, but before the interviewing process had concluded the job itself was gone.

"When the Abbott Government came in and put a freeze on CSIRO hiring, that search was subsequently cancelled. I was no longer able to apply," she said.

Now Dr Edwards has been offered a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) by the Australian Research Council, a hugely competitive award worth $385,000.

But Dr Edwards has chosen to turn it down.

She said the most recent round of funding cuts to science and the prospect of university fee deregulation meant she saw no future in Australian science.

"The prospect of getting a more permanent position outside the three-year fellowship didn't look good given my struggles with trying to find a position. Declining funding rates were also a notion," she said.

"Given that most of the research in Australia - if you're a research scientist - is undertaken by PhD students, the idea that PhD students would have to pay their fees would just mean that you're unable to get people in the lab to do what needed to be done."

[IQS.RLOW]

Because how a lizard will be affected by globule warmering is such a great way to spend taxpayer dollars. Suck it up sook. You should have studied something worthwhile instead of being another leech and jumping on the taxpayer funded AGW bandwagon.

[boxy]

Such a hatred of knowledge. I pity you.

[IQS.RLOW]

Such a hatred of knowledge. I pity you.

Such a wastrel of public funds. I loathe you.