Michelle Rowland quietly announced in QT that the government would be bringing forward funding for the CSIRO but the Greens have won an inquiry into the proposed job cuts and funding issues more broadly.

Peter Whish-Wilson said:

The Albanese government has dealt the CSIRO some of the most savage job cuts in the science agency’s entire history.

It is reprehensible that the Albanese government has failed to address concerns that the job cuts disproportionately impact public good science – with the Environment Research Unit set to bear the brunt of proposed cuts.

The government is either disregarding the biodiversity and climate crisis facing our nation, or it doesn’t care. 

Science is one of the best defences we have in tackling Australia’s biggest future challenges – from climate change, food security, and health emergencies. 

The short-sightedness of the Albanese government’s job cuts to the CSIRO is negligent. Everybody needs science, and we need to defend it from attack. 

Scientists deserve better and they deserve answers, indeed all Australians do. It is critical the Senate examines how the CSIRO ended up in this position, who knew about the dire state of the agency and for how long, and why senior executives took bonuses while funding cliffs were obviously approaching.”