George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Waters, on our side of politics we are very proud of the CSIRO. I think all Australians ought to be very proud of the CSIRO. The CSIRO in its original inception was a creation of a coalition government, in fact—the Bruce-Page government in the 1920s. From time to time all organisations, including an organisation that has been in existence for nearly a century now in its various forms, need to undergo a process of modernisation and a consideration of their priorities.

Senator Waters, as I said to you in response to your primary question, importantly there will be no net job losses at the CSIRO. You seem to be, Senator Waters, if I may say so, stuck in this mindset that nothing should ever be allowed to change. I should have thought, Senator Waters, that if ever there was an organisation that ought to be agile across its priorities it would be a scientific research organisation. (Time expired)