Cutting NCRIS = Budgetary Reform?
Celebrate Excellence: Enter The Social Enterprise Awards 2015
March 3, 2015Twilight Meetup ‘Down By The River’ At Wangaratta
March 12, 2015We all keep hearing that Australia needs structural reform to our budget ie looking at where really large amounts of money are going.
DIFFICULT AREAS LIKE:
- Pensions going to people who don’t ‘need’ them
- Superannuation benefits to people who can afford to contribute something (like me!)
- Subsidising fossil fuel companies’ exploration efforts
BUT, today there is talk about cutting $150 funding to the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), ending ground-breaking Australian research unless the higher ed bill passes the senate.
What Our Scientists Are Saying
- Australia’s productivity and 1,700 jobs are at risk
- Astronomer and Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt says the cut would be a hit unlike any he’s seen in his 20 years in Australia..it will have an enormous effect and it’s certainly something that we cannot let happen. He says:
“Australia will be the laughing stock of the scientific world.”
WHY don’t our major parties have the intestinal fortitude to tackle the hard stuff?
Take the time to lead an informed public discussion – take a few years if necessary, as there is no immediate crisis – and do what needs to be done in an open, constructive manner.
Words fail me – almost!
