The Federal Government is allowing Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, to be run down at the very moment we need it most. With hundreds of jobs already cut and hundreds more on the line, we are calling on the government to urgently step in, stop the cuts, and properly fund the CSIRO for the long term.
This petition is a public call for action to protect the scientists and researchers who keep Australia safe, innovative, and prepared for the challenges ahead.
PETITION TEXT
Australia is facing enormous challenges, from the accelerating impacts of climate change to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and robotics. We need world-class science to meet them. But right now, our national science agency, the CSIRO, is being pushed into crisis.
The CSIRO plans to cut another 350 research jobs, on top of the 800 jobs already lost in the past 18 months, on top of people in non-permanent roles whose contracts won’t be renewed.
That’s more than the cuts under the Abbott Government, and it’s happening under a government that says it backs science!
These cuts aren’t happening because the work isn’t needed. They’re happening because the Federal Government’s funding for the CSIRO has eroded for decades, falling to less than half what it was per person in the 1980s and dropping 87.5% as a share of GDP. Australia now spends less of our economy on research and development than at any point in our history.
If we’re serious about securing a safe, prosperous future, we must invest in the people who do the science.
We call on the Albanese Government to:
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Make an urgent investment in the upcoming MYEFO to stop these devastating CSIRO job cuts, and
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Commit to long-term, sustainable funding that rebuilds our national science capability rather than managing its decline.
Australia cannot afford to lose hundreds more scientists and researchers. We need the CSIRO at full strength, now more than ever.
Add your name to call on the Federal Government to properly fund the CSIRO and protect Australia’s scientific future.