Senator Kim Carr

The Liberal government is out of touch with modern Australia — and nothing shows it more than the government's relentless war on science.

The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government has slashed funding for research in universities and public agencies such as CSIRO, shedding more than 1300 science jobs since 2013.

Jobs, livelihoods and Australia’s innovation system are being placed at risk by Education Minister, Dan Tehan’s refusal to approve $300 million in grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC).
 
The Minister seems more than capable of holding a crisis meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the Liberals’ Victorian wipe out, but is incapable of following the advice of the ARC and approving these grants.    

Today’s announcement by the Government to slash university research funding to lift the cap on regional university places is reckless and short sighted.
 
Scott Morrison’s latest act of vandalism will further damage Australia’s world class university research.

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC NEWS RADIO
WEDNESDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2018
 
SUBJECTS: GOVERNMENT REJECTION OF ARC GRANTS.
 
STEVE CHASE: Education Minister Dan Tehan has announced an interest test for the grant application process, will ensure that taxpayers can have confidence in how their money is spent. His call for full transparency comes after his predecessor blocked funding for 11 projects already approved by the independent research council. Kim Carr is the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and he joins us now. Senator Carr thanks for coming on.

Minister for Education, Dan Tehan MP’s announcement of a “National Interest Test for” Australian research grants is just an attempt to spin his government’s way out of trouble on its arbitrary decision-making regarding the awarding of research grants.
 
A national interest test already exists.
 

Last night Senate Estimates exposed that former Education Minister, Simon Birmingham, secretly vetoed 11 humanities research projects in an attempt to pander to extreme right wing elements of the Liberal-National Coalition. 
 
These projects, which had been independently approved by Australian Research Council, were rejected without explanation. 

Today marks 12 months since the Liberal Government allowed Australia’s last vehicle production plant to close.
 
In its last year before the Liberals took power, the Australian car industry spent almost $700 million per year on research and development and generated exports worth $3.7 billion.    

Labor congratulates the recipients of the 2018 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, who were recognised at an awards ceremony at Parliament House last night.
 
The recipient of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science, Emeritus Professor Kurt Lambeck AO, and each of the other recipients are examples of the outstanding talent within Australia’s laboratories, businesses, universities and classrooms.

While the Prime Minister will be spruiking his so-called science credentials tonight at the PM’s Prizes for Science new data reveals that his Government has cut funding for science, research and innovation by 7.7 per cent taking it to an eight year low.      
 
Data released yesterday shows that investment across government in science, research and innovation will be down by $800 million from $10.4 billion in 2017-18 to $9.6 billion in 2018-19.

In less than 12 months Christopher Pyne has delivered three rounds of job losses at ASC, with 372 shipbuilders losing their jobs at Osborne.    
 
Christopher Pyne has let down the workers at Osborne, South Australia, and the Australian shipbuilding industry. He has shown exactly what his promises are worth.