Up to 350 jobs set to go from scientific research organisation CSIRO

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO, is cutting an additional 350 research jobs as it grapples with long-term financial challenges.

Transcript

00:00It all comes down to funding after decades of stretching resources to maintain all of

00:07its science programs.

00:09The CSIRO says it's reached a critical inflection point and that it doesn't have enough money

00:15to keep up with the rising costs of maintaining a modern national science agency.

00:20Now, this significant downsize comes after an 18-month review into the agency's research

00:26portfolio and it means that the CSIRO will now sharpen its focus to look at areas such

00:32as building resilience against the worsening impacts of climate change, clean energy, as

00:38well as advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics.

00:43The CSIRO's chief executive, Dr Doug Hilton, said about 300 to 350 jobs are expected to

00:50be cut and that conversations with affected staff members will be happening today.

00:56While Dr Hilton did say that he recognizes that the CSIRO does need to modernize, he did

01:02lament the decline in funding for science, research and development in Australia over

01:08many decades.

01:09Here he is.

01:10I think it's well recognized over the last 40 years our investment in R&D as a nation has

01:17declined in a way that's very worrying.

01:20That's both from the viewpoint of private sector investment but also government investment in

01:24R&D.

01:26So it's not a problem that has occurred over the last few years.

01:29It's something that's accumulated as a nation for decades and I think it's a bit of a wake

01:32up call.

01:33We need to think about what sort of nation we want to be.

01:37Already more than 800 jobs have been slashed over 18 months at the CSIRO.

01:44These latest job cuts are expected to come from right across the country.

01:48We don't know exactly which roles will be affected but we do know that they will be coming from

01:53the CSIRO's research unit.

01:55What's been the reaction to the cuts?

01:57Well, the union representing the CSIRO staff members has slammed the decision saying it's

02:04a really sad day for publicly funded science here in Australia with the group's secretary

02:10calling on the Albanese government to fix this mess.

02:13Now, the Greens and Senator David Pocock have also raised concerns urging the Albanese government

02:20to boost funding for the CSIRO with Senator Pocock saying, well, if the federal government

02:26cares about strengthening Australia's economy to keep up with this change to renewable energy

02:31and clean energy, then it really does need to be investing in our premier science agency.

02:36Take a listen.

02:38At the same time that they are putting billions and billions of dollars on the table for steel

02:44workers, for aluminium workers, they're saying to scientists and researchers, your jobs aren't

02:48as important. We talk about future made in Australia, but we're not willing to actually invest in the

02:53research that the science that will actually create those solutions and those jobs in the future.

03:00Now, the response from the federal government so far has come from the federal science minister,

03:04Tim Ayers. And he acknowledged that, yes, this is a difficult time for the CSIRO,

03:10but he said that these cuts were about modernising the agency, making sure it was fit for purpose,

03:15and that it was forwards looking to deal with some of the challenges of the future.

03:20When he was pressed around which jobs would be cut, he said that there won't be any changes

03:26to health disease research, but he did indicate that research around areas such as nutrition would

03:32no longer be considered a priority underneath these changes to the CSIRO.

03:37So, let's take a look.

03:39Let's take a look at this.

03:40Let's break into the safety of some of the efforts of the CSIRO.

03:41Sorry.

03:43I'm starting to go with one question.

03:45I am going to lose a few more questions about that.

03:46Let's take a look at this.

03:47I'm going to start with that.

03:48I'll do the best because of this is the next question.

03:49That's all.

03:50I'm going to do the best because of it isn't as much as a human being.

03:52To make sure it is a human being.

03:54So, for me, I'm going to do it.

03:55Because of this is how it is not turning together.

03:56I will take a saint to the secret of the club, it is both being able to have a

03:59and your knowledge because of the coach who can't pick up the test

04:01and their profession.

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