Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Science, Minister Ayres. Minister, under your watch, CSIRO has now copped the biggest job cuts in its history—more than 800 jobs lost over the past 18 months and another 350 science jobs to be cut in the months ahead. Both the CPSU and the CSIRO Staff Association have slammed your government, claiming these cuts are worse than under any antiscience, climate-denying LNP government. Genuinely, Minister, this is not something that I or anyone I know at CSIRO thought would be possible. Aren't you ashamed of this?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it's important to step through, in a careful way, what it is that is being undertaken at the CSIRO. It is 15 years since the CSIRO has undertaken a proper strategic examination of its research priorities to make sure that every science dollar—and this government every year has allocated close to a billion dollars to the CSIRO—is allocated to a program of research which is squarely within the national science priorities of the CSIRO and the government. That is the exercise that the management and the board of the CSIRO have embarked upon. It is absolutely in Australia's national interest that the work of the CSIRO is directed absolutely directly at every one of those national science priorities and not in other areas. That is the work that is going on. I think that you will discover over the coming weeks and months that the areas of emphasis that the CSIRO and the programs of research that they are leaning into are absolutely in the national interest, absolutely in the interest of strengthening the CSIRO and making sure that it is fit for purpose for the decades ahead.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whish-Wilson, first supplementary?

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let's talk about the national interest. You publicly confirmed on Friday that CSIRO's Environment Research Unit on climate, nature, water and oceans is set to bear the brunt of these cuts, with 20 per cent of the unit's staff to be axed—one in five jobs to go, Minister. Aren't climate science and the environment national priorities? You're making big claims that you care about the environment and delivering environmental law reform, but you clearly don't give a fig about the environment, do you? You should be ashamed of this.

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, Senator, thank you for that question. There is a reprioritisation, and I think that what you will find is that, in areas like climate adaptation and in areas of particular focus, like zoonotic disease, landscape pests, pathogen science—all of those questions that go to future resilience, in terms of pandemics, climate adaptation and a range of the areas that are squarely within the national interest and the national science priorities—this is all about strengthening those areas. This is, of course, a difficult process, and these scientists are passionate Australians who are absolutely qualified in their areas of science. And we know that this is very difficult, but it is necessary and important work.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whish-Wilson, second supplementary?

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, what have you got to say to CSIRO staff, scientists—especially young early-career scientists—who are now going into Christmas not knowing if they will have a job next year? What message are you sending to young Australians who are aspiring to be scientists?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What I say to young Australians at school or studying at university in the sciences is that you should lean in hard and look hard for a career in the sciences, because it is important for our national interest, and that there will be a strong, viable, credible, effective national science institution, working in a coordinated way with our university sector, our private-sector research and our other science institutions, on the issues that matter for Australia's future climate security, our future energy security—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whish-Wilson, you've asked your question.

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

our future economic resilience, and managing diseases and imported pests. These are all the priorities that the CSIRO will be focused on, and there's a lot of work to do.