Budget backs science for the future

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Megan Clark said the Federal Budget firmly backed research priorities aimed at delivering benefits for all Australians, and welcomed the announcements of major investments in national research infrastructure.

“This Budget represents an increase in direct funding to CSIRO of $43 million, or 6.4 per cent, next financial year,” Dr Clark said.

“In addition we will receive $150m over the next four years to deliver a new national Marine Research Vessel ($120m) and expanded Atlas of Living Australia ($30m). These together with other Super Science infrastructure investments announced in the budget will help CSIRO and our collaborators continue to deliver high impact outcomes in areas of national, and indeed global, challenges and opportunities.

“The budget will see CSIRO increase its research effort in food production and food security, continue to direct our marine capability to deliver oceanographic, geo-scientific, fishery and ecosystem research and ensure vital integration between ocean, land and atmosphere research with respect to climate change.

“It will also enable us to move forward with confidence in the areas of environmental sustainability, research into agricultural productivity, leading to higher – value agricultural products.

“There will be a continuation of our research focus in health, the development of solutions to broader national security and biosecurity issues, new technologies in the global minerals market, research into energy, further integration of our world-class ICT expertise with community and industry areas, growth of impact in the future manufacturing domain, a focus on next-generation radio astronomy including the Square Kilometre Array, and more broadly and deeply integration of our capabilities in mathematics and computational science.

“CSIRO also welcomes the Government’s budget decision to provide $80m for a new Square Kilometre Array Science Centre in Western Australia as part of efforts to deliver the SKA Pathfinder project, $36m for the Australian Synchrotron of which is CSIRO is founding member for a National Centre for Synchrotron Science,  $8m for the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Australia consortium of which CSIRO is a key player and $45m for the University of Tasmania to help create a marine research precinct with CSIRO researchers on the Hobart waterfront.”

CSIRO will also be involved through collaboration in several other initiatives announced in the Budget including the Integrated Marine Observing System, National Computational Infrastructure, Australian Plant Phenomics Facility, and the Australian National Fabrication Facility.

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