Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

This is a government which spends some $9 billion a year on research. The CSIRO, the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council—about $9 billion a year we spend on research. In the years and decades to come we want to spend more and we certainly want to see more of our best people going into teaching and more of our best teachers going into science, maths, technology and engineering because these STEM subjects are very important.

I have been asked about cuts to the CSIRO's budget. Labor cut $63 million from the CSIRO. What outrageous hypocrisy. What absolutely outrageous hypocrisy. This is a government which takes science seriously, but this is also a government which takes budget responsibility seriously, and the best thing we can do for all of our great institutions is to be in a position to make them sustainable, to give them sustainable, long-term funding for the years and decades ahead, and that is why above all else this is a government which is absolutely committed to budget responsibility.

See this speech in context