Science Cuts in Australia
This article was derived from Episode 38of Everything Economics, published on July 15, 2019. Everything Economics is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Tahlia Murdoch, on the Cave Goblin Network.
Science funding, research and development, really should be protected by legislation to have a continued, sufficient funding stream. It is how we make new discoveries in medicine, technology, agriculture, energy, and many other areas, that widely benefit the country and the world. When cuts are made to science, we lose innovation. Nobody wins. I’m going to be taking a look at the cuts made to the scientific community in Australia, compare our funding to the rest of the world, and look at the negative impacts this has had, and will continue to have, on the economy and society at large.
Since the Liberal National Party, (commonly known as the coalition, and not liberal in a philosophical sense), came to power in 2013, science funding has been under attack.
In 2014/15, under the leadership of Tony Abbott, government funding for science research and development (R&D) reached its lowest point ever recorded in history, to just 0.5% of GDP. This has been not only maintained during their term, but continues to drop, also in the private sector. Overall, in 2018, so including both public and private funding streams, science R&D was equal to just 1.88% of GDP, compared to the OECD average of 2.36%. So Australia is not even coming close to doing enough.
In dollar terms, University Research Block Grants are to be slashed by $328.5 million AUD over the next four years. This is double what universities across the country were expecting, and means less money to pay research faculty staff and PhD students. This not only jeopardizes Australia’s position as a leader in world research, and its capacity to make new, beneficial innovations, but also risks the quality of higher education if no one is around to actually teach not just a subject, but what they are learning and discovering themselves. To put it briefly, there will be no new opportunities for existing and upcoming scientists in the country, and internationally.
While the government will still provide $1.92 billion in total for research grants, which is a high-ish number, the point is, that they have the capacity to spend more, in line with what other OECD countries are doing. It is the proportion of GDP that this funding makes up, that highlights its insufficiency, and the short-sightedness of the current government, who are more focussed on cutting taxes and reaching a surplus, than investing in and improving the economy. Something which science research helps to achieve.
It is estimated that on average, government investment in scientific research and development pays a 20% return on investment per year. So for every $1, about $1.20 is made back in other areas. And this is just an average. Some investments will of course, result in a net loss, while others have given a 14,000% return, all depending on the type of technology, the program itself, and how the impact is measured.
Compared to what you get off your savings, or even your stock portfolio, this is exceptionally high and a great use of public funds. Even politically speaking, three quarters of the Australian public want to see more money spent on R&D than currently is. Likely because the data speaks for itself, and the country does have a pretty impressive portfolio of important inventions out of the country that have changed the world. So here is a quick list of six that almost everyone will have heard of:
- The black box flight recorder — something that records flights and can be recovered in the case of an accident, that has made air travel safer and more efficient
- Wifi — how did you access this article? How do you do anything today? Wifi is a utility
- Cervical Cancer Vaccine — now this is something I was lucky to receive in school in 2004. Women get tested for cervical cancer and other abnormalities by getting a pap smear where a swab is taken from the cervix for testing. Before this vaccine, women in Australia were advised to get a pap smear every two years. But now, 15 years later, it is advised to get one every 5 years because this vaccination has drastically decreased the rate of cervical cancer in the country.
- Spray on Skin — something developed by Dr. Fiona Wood in the 1990s when scientific R&D funding was actually at one of its highest points. Spray on skin is what it sounds like — skin cells that spray on the affected area, instead of a traditional skin graft which is a more invasive procedure and difficult to develop. I personally know two people who have spray on skin from burns as a child, which has given them mobility that they may have otherwise gone without.
- The Bionic Ear — we as people communicate through the audio medium so much. Whether that is watching tv, listening to the radio, or having a conversation, sound is all around us. And the bionic ear gives people who have lost their ability to hear, the chance to regain it.
- Lastly, something I thought was pretty cool, is the Fraxier Lens which allows the subject and the background in a shot to both be clear. I’m no film buff but just from watching old and new movies, it is clear to see what this has done for the film and photography art form, and the ability to capture more space, images, ambience and emotions in a shot.
And there are so many more if you just google it, you might be surprised what you find that has had wide reaching impacts like the above.
So thinking now of the cuts that have happened, alongside the innovation that Australian scientists have achieved, what will be some of the broader impacts?
Well since 2013, the coalition have cut this funding by $3billion, which left thousands of scientists without any job prospects. So they moved to countries like China who continue to raise their science funding levels, taking with them their brain power, their skills and their knowledge, that was essentially funded through the university system by taxpayers, who will no longer reap the benefits.
Think of it from the beginning — an Australian citizen goes to University to earn a science degree by getting a zero interest loan from the government — because education is good for society. They then continue on in the academic world earning a masters, a PhD, and working on ground breaking research in energy, agriculture and medicine, worth millions and millions of dollars in profits (once it is able to be sold), plus the benefits of whatever it is they are coming up with, to the public. Since all of the funding that once supported this level of academia and innovation has essentially disappeared, to its lowest point in history, of course they will move to a country where they can get a job. Decades of public investment is exported overseas, but, the benefits are not being brought back into Australia to be enjoyed by those who funded it.
Similarly, because Australia has not been lifting its weight in the international science community, other countries who have been meeting or exceeding the OECD investment average, are no longer interested in working with them, and aren’t willing to just share their knowledge with us when we ask to return to projects. This is generally done through publicly funded Cooperative Research Centres, which since 2013, have lost $118 million. On a personal level, I don’t agree with just blocking someone out of a project, but diplomatically, it makes sense that a country would be protective of its hard earned scientific advances and intellectual property, if the other country hasn’t been contributing in a significant way.
Unfortunately, the coalition were re-elected this year, and the downward trend continues. I can’t see anything changing in the near future, which will continue to damage the present, as well as the long-term. Cutting scientific R&D is simply counterintuitive to improving the quality of a nation. And the media is pretty silent on the matter. Can you imagine what the reaction would be if a single budget announcement included cuts that would cut thousands of mining jobs? The public, driven by the media, would be in an uproar. It is being seen even now with the continued push by the government to build a massive coal mine, under the guise of job creation, despite the fact that building a massive coal mine is a really, really bad idea. It is no coincidence that this isn’t being discussed in the mainstream media more.
Science provides many wide ranging benefits to society. A government should invest in things that will improve the economy and quality of life. Under the science R&D umbrella, things like new medicines and medical practices, renewable energy, safe water technology, bushfire prevention, utilities access, sustainable food systems, and of course more. It is very disappointing and let’s be honest, alarming, to see what is happening to the science community in Australia. Sure, it is being picked up in other countries and the research is still happening, but it won’t be enjoyed by the Australian public — through both government revenue, income taxes, GST, and individual access.
In short, the coalition do not care about the public. Their policies are short-sighted, damaging, and aim to benefit a handful of people in big business, at the cost of education, health, and the environment.
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