The Australian Government's 2015 Budget in May brought relief from the deep cuts to science funding of the previous two budgets. Some areas received a funding boost while others experienced moderate cuts (cuts which will be delayed in most cases until 2016–17), with the result being what many viewed as a ‘status-quo’ outcome for science.
Read the Academy’s detailed summary and analysis of the 2015–16 federal budget
Significant announcements made during the budget include:
In March, the Australian Academy of Science joined with the Australian Chief Scientist to launch a report on the economic impacts of advanced physical and mathematical sciences.
The study found that advances over the past 20 years in the fields of physics, chemistry, mathematics and earth sciences directly underpin 11.2% of Australia’s economic activity, and indirectly support a further 11.3% by way of ‘flow-on’ savings and productivity gains for consumers and other industries that use the outputs of science-based industry.
The Academy is a strong supporter of increasing STEM capabilities through its widely-used education programs, Primary Connections and Science by Doing
Earlier this year the Academy helped lead the National Research Alliance’s call for an end to funding uncertainty for the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
Alliance members wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister outlining the adverse impacts caused by the funding uncertainty.
Continued funding for NCRIS was at risk, with the government stating it would not fund the program unless its higher education deregulation Bills were passed by the Senate.
The ambitious 2050 project aims to get people talking about Australia's future.
Academy Fellow Dr John Finnigan FAA launched the final publication from the Australia 2050 ‘Negotiating our future’ project at the Academy’s Early- and Mid-Career Researcher Forum’s conference, Science Pathways, in April.
The Academy recently made a number of submissions to important government consultations on setting Australia’s post-2020 target for greenhouse gas emissions; Australia’s Antarctic Program; the regulation of stem cell therapies, proposed changes to the Defence Trade Control Act; and the review to strengthen independent medical research institutes.
Read all the Academy’s submissions
Review to strengthen independent medical research institutes[The Academy] highlighted the need for collaboration in medical research
From time to time the Academy develops position statements to help clarify its approach to strategic science policy issues. The Academy developed two recent position statements, on international relations, and the recently released ‘Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan’.
Read all the Academy’s position statements
Two health workshops focusing on lifestyle diseases and emerging diseases have enabled Australian and Indonesian scientists to share knowledge and create new collaborations.
Two health workshops…have enabled Australian and Indonesian scientists to share knowledge and create new collaborations.The workshops, held in Jakarta in May, were a joint initiative of the Australian Academy of Science and the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI).
A total of 21 researchers from Australia, selected by the Academy, are heading to Japan on fellowships awarded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
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