Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I will start my contribution on this matter of public importance by, strangely enough, agreeing with just one thing that Senator Forshaw said—that is, what a fantastic organisation the CSIRO is and has been for a long period of time since it was set up by a Liberal government in years gone by. They do some very good scientific work. It is pretty clear, and many of my colleagues from all sides in this debate have pointed this out, how under this government a lot of scientific work has become subject to either direct or indirect censorship. The indirect censorship is of course the wink and the nod from a minister in charge, like Senator Carr, who is often humourously called ‘Red Kim’ from the politburo. He is known for his very extreme left-wing views. The thought going around, as my colleagues have mentioned, is that Senator Carr, the relevant minister, makes it clear that if any researcher wants money then they had better make sure that they are toeing the government line.

The instance that has been raised of Dr Clive Spash is a case in point. Perhaps Senator Forshaw was correct when he said there was no directive issued by the minister, but any bureaucrat, any administrator of CSIRO, would know that promoting someone who has a different view to that of the government, whether it is a view I agree with or not, means that research funds might dry up and means that, in one way or another, the organisation may be penalised. Any of those who have followed Senator Carr’s history, and I could perhaps talk about the Victorian Right in the old days, would know that when Senator Carr wants to get into bullying mode he is a pretty formidable opponent. I guess that is why the Right in Victoria have now folded in with him—rather than trying to bully each other they have got together.