Science is emerging as a key issue for both major parties at the federal election, with both pledging more funding.
Publicly-funded science plays a key role in the agriculture sector, but sadly it’s taken a big hit under the Coalition government.
Let’s hope rural research is front of mind for policy makers in the lead up to the upcoming poll, due by May 18.
In 2014, the Abbott Government’s $110 million science funding cut preceded a loss of 1400 staff across CSIRO. The losses bit particularly hard in regional areas.
In 2013 CSIRO’s annual report listed 6500 staff overall. By 2015 staff level had fallen to 5100.
Metropolitan worksites lost 18 per cent of their staff, while typically smaller regional sites lost 21pc of their staff.
In 2013, 368 staff worked in regional areas. By 2015, 78 positions had been lost in the bush and just 290 regional staff remained.
In the past five years four regional sites have been lost, with doors closing at Alice Springs, Griffith, Mildura and Rockhampton. Wodonga is expected to wind up next year.
PM Scott Morrison announced the new National Science and Technology Council to advise government. It replaces the Commonwealth Science Council, which has been inactive for the past year.
The Opposition committed to lift spending on research and development from 1.8pc of gross domestic product to 3pc of GDP, to conduct a review of the national science and research priorities, and to establish a Prime Minister’s Science and Innovation Council for independent advice to government.
With agriculture impacting everyone and just about everything in Australia, in one way or another, even relatively small research programs can deliver immeasurable benefits. Even dung beetles.
Australia boasts some impressive native species, but our indigenous beetles aren’t suited to breaking down the dung of livestock.
That meant more than 80 million tonnes of sheep and cattle dung was left lying around for flies to breed in, and the hordes of bushflies across the country every summer.
Starting in 1984, CSIRO introduced more than 40 exotic species to tackle the problem - 23 of them have established populations, removing bushfly breeding grounds and burying dung in paddocks across the country – recycling key nutrients and crucial soil carbon.
