R&D investment boost needed in Federal Budget
Australia’s leading scientists have urged the Australian Government to commit to a bold and ambitious structural reform agenda for science, including a target to boost investment in research and development (R&D) and an independent review of the Australian science system.
In a pre-budget submission for 2023–24, the Australian Academy of Science calls on the government to formally adopt a target of 3% of GDP invested in R&D from the present (2020) of 1.79% (0.92% business, 0.61 universities and 0.18% government); all need to increase.
Growing to the target would act as a key driver of economic growth, innovation and competitiveness. But it would need a change in policies.
The Academy also recommends a comprehensive and independent review of the Australian science and research sector, which currently operates on a 30-year-old system.
While the government has commissioned reviews of the Australian university system, science and research priorities, diversity in STEM, and the Australian Research Council, linking these endeavours to a national priority to lift our R&D performance is urgently required.
With R&D expenditure falling over the past decade, Academy President Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FREng FTSE said stronger investment would help Australia to become a knowledge-based economy, in line with other OECD countries that have a greater dependence on knowledge, information and high-skill levels.
“Australia should decide the skills and capabilities we need to build and the research strengths we need to sustain them,” Professor Jagadish said.
“These recommendations will take time to implement, but are achievable, and we hope the upcoming budget helps to reposition Australian science to advance national prosperity and global competitiveness.”
The Academy’s other recommendations in its pre-budget submission for 2023–24 are:
- Policies should be implemented to increase the complexity of the Australian economy and create more R&D intensive enterprises.
- Collect data on Australian science frequently and comprehensively.
- Prioritise major strategic investments to drive an uplift in investment in R&D.
Background
On 25 January 2023, the Academy made a submission to the 2023–24 Federal Budget.
Developments in Australian science to watch out for in 2023
Environmental reform, new national science and research priorities and stronger scientific engagement in the Asia-Pacific are among the big-ticket items on the agenda for Australian science in 2023.
Research
Before April: The Australian Research Council’s Review Panel will provide the Minister for Education with a final report. The Academy’s submission to the review of the ARC Act says fundamental research should be the primary focus of the ARC. The submission calls on the Australian Government to commission an independent science and research system review.
Before October: Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic has committed to renewing Australia’s National Science and Research Priorities and to developing a National Science Statement. Academy Fellows will inform this debate on how to build critical Australian science capabilities and play to our research strengths.
Science diplomacy
First six months: The International Science Council Asia-Pacific Regional Presence, led by the Australian Academy of Science, will begin operation. The Regional Presence will strengthen Australia’s scientific leadership in the region and globally.
Throughout the year: Ukrainian scientists who have fled the war with Russia or who have been unable to work due to the destruction of their workplace will receive a helping hand from Australia. The assistance will be provided thanks to an A$800,000 donation to the Academy from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.
Scientific evidence and the law
This year: A decision will be handed down by Commissioner Tom Bathurst AC KC, who is leading the Second Inquiry into the convictions of Kathleen Folbigg. The second hearing block in the Inquiry is scheduled to commence on 13 February and will address cardiac and genetic evidence as well as psychology, psychiatry, and other evidence relevant to Ms Folbigg's diaries. The Academy is an independent scientific adviser to the Inquiry.
Environment
First six months: A new package of national environmental legislation will be prepared to implement reforms outlined in the Australian Government’s response to an independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999), handed down in 2020. The shape of some of the proposed reforms remains unclear. The Academy looks forward to continuing to engage with the Australian Government in refining and implementing these reforms.
Legislation will be introduced into the Australian Parliament to reform carbon offsets and on the safeguard mechanism to help industry reduce emissions. The Academy says Australia needs a credible, high integrity and effective carbon offsets system.
Higher education
June and December: The Australian Universities Accord was announced in 2022 as a long-term plan for Australia’s higher education system. The Accord Panel is currently engaging across the higher education sector and is due to issue an interim report in June 2023 and a final report in December 2023. The Academy made a submission to the Panel’s initial consultation on the Terms of Reference and looks forward to continuing to engage throughout the review process.
Health
February: The House of Representatives Health Committee has begun an inquiry to look at the long-term effects of long COVID, which is disproportionately affecting young people and women. On 17 February, the Academy and the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences will hold an expert roundtable at Parliament House to highlight the latest scientific evidence on the issue.
Academy events to watch out for this year:
- 14 February 2023: First of six public lectures on Indigenous knowledge
- March: Annual honorific awardees announced
- May: New Fellows announced
- November: Science at the Shine Dome
Academy Fellows celebrated with Order of Australia honours
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science continue to exemplify excellence in science, with four Fellows among those recognised in the 2023 Order of Australia honours.
This year, two Fellows—Professor Melissa Little and Emeritus Professor Peter Hannaford—have received Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) Awards, the highest appointment to the Order of Australia, recognising “eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or to humanity at large”.
Professor Matthew Colless has received the prestigious Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) medal, while Emeritus Professor John Pate’s achievements have seen him recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Professor Melissa Little AC FAA FAHMS
Professor Little is internationally recognised for her research on kidney development and her pioneering studies into renal regeneration.
Her work has been featured on the front covers of Nature and Nature Cell Biology, describing the generation of kidney organoids from human pluripotent stem cells—a breakthrough that opened the door to kidney disease modelling, drug screening and the bioengineering of replacement kidney tissue.
Together with a strong track record of commercial translation, she has been a leader in Australian science policy through her membership of both the Wills and McKeon reviews of health and medical research.
Professor Little has been awarded an AC “for eminent service to medical research through pioneering contributions to regenerative therapies for kidney disease, and to stem cell medicine”. She was elected an Academy Fellow in 2017.
Emeritus Professor Peter Hannaford AC FAA
Elected to the Academy in 1991, Emeritus Professor Hannaford is a prominent physicist and Distinguished Professor at Swinburne University of Technology.
Professor Hannaford was also Chair of the National Committee for Spectroscopy from 1993 to 2003.
His contributions to atomic spectroscopy include: the analysis and interpretation of the profiles of atomic resonance lines emitted by hollow-cathode atomic spectral lamps; the development of methods of generating atomic vapours by cathodic sputtering; and the realisation that such vapours would greatly facilitate many fundamental investigations by high-resolution and time-resolved laser spectroscopy.
These contributions constituted the creation of an increasingly important new field of laser spectroscopy with sputtered atoms.
Professor Hannaford receives his AC “for eminent service to science, particularly to experimental physics, as an academic and researcher, to professional institutions, and as a role model for young scientists”.
Professor Matthew Colless AO FAA
Professor Colless has led high-impact research in the fields of observational cosmology, galaxy and cluster evolution and the large-scale structure of the Universe, and has driven the development of multi-object spectroscopy in the new field of statistical astronomy. In particular, his conception of and leadership of the 2dFGRS survey has firmly established the values of many key cosmological parameters. These include the determination of the Hubble constant, the cosmological constant, the matter density in the Universe, the baryonic to dark matter fraction, and an upper limit on the neutrino fraction.
Professor Colless is Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University and was previously Director of the Australian Astronomical Observatory.
He has been awarded the AO “for distinguished service to scientific research, particularly to astronomy and astrophysics, and to professional societies”.
Professor Colless was elected an Academy Fellow in 2004.
Emeritus Professor John Pate AM FRS FAA
Pre-eminent in the field of plant biology and physiology, Emeritus Professor Pate’s major contribution has been the quantitation and integration of our understanding of the carbon and nitrogen economy of legume plants, especially the pea. Using a wide range of experimental approaches and techniques, many of his own devising, he has analysed the circulatory system for nitrogen and carbon compounds, particularly in the fruits, but also in the leaves, roots and nitrogen-fixing nodules.
His work has elucidated the interrelations and traffic between xylem and phloem, and the nature of the competition between roots and nodules in their metabolic activities. With Professor B.E.S. Gunning, he discovered transfer cells and elucidated their function in plants.
Elected an Academy Fellow in 1980, Professor Pate has been recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia “for significant service to botany, and to tertiary education”.
Professor Pate was also elected to the Royal Society of London in 1985 and inducted to the Western Australian Science Hall of Fame in 2017.
Academy welcomes new philanthropy director
Kate Groves will play a key role as Philanthropy Director at the Academy.
The Australian Academy of Science welcomes Kate Groves to the role of Philanthropy Director.
Kate brings to the Academy a wealth of experience in philanthropy, strategic planning and developing fundraising campaigns and models, most recently with the St Vincent’s Curran Foundation as the Director of Campaigns, and previously at the National Gallery of Australia Foundation. Kate also brings to the Academy a warmth for getting to know people and building connections.
Academy Chief Executive Anna-Maria Arabia said philanthropy is directly responsible for many of the Academy’s achievements including support for early- and mid-career researchers, the provision of independent scientific advice to inform decisions, the development of scientific research programs and many other activities, and will continue to be essential for capacity building for science in Australia.
“Kate will play a key role in supporting the Academy’s vision to foster scientific excellence and innovative research through philanthropy, working with our valued donors, supporters and stakeholders. Philanthropy will continue to be a vital source of funding increasing our capabilities to deliver activities and strengthening the Academy’s impact as leaders in science,” Ms Arabia said.
Find out more about the Academy’s philanthropy and partnerships, and our unique opportunity to celebrate science by dedicating a copper tile on the iconic shine dome to a scientist or teacher.
For more information about becoming involved and how you can support the Academy, please contact Kate:
Email: kate.groves@science.org.au
Phone: 02 6201 9460
Academy to advise on future of the Great Barrier Reef
The Australian Academy of Science will assemble Australia’s leading experts to discuss the future of the Great Barrier Reef under different climate scenarios and ways to boost its health and resilience for the decades to come.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water engaged the Academy to convene a series of roundtables that will support the Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel in its role of advising government.
Throughout three roundtables this year, cross-disciplinary scientists, specialists and Traditional Owners will discuss the latest evidence around pressures on reef species, habitats and ecosystems (both terrestrial and marine), key gaps in knowledge, and potential responses—including new and emerging technologies—in the context of future climate scenarios.
The Academy will provide a final report which will be a robust evidence-based synthesis of the science. The report will present the most likely impacts of climate change on the ecosystems that make up the Great Barrier Reef.
The final report will be publicly available as a resource for governments and the non-government sector.
Academy President Professor Chennupati Jagadish said the role of independent expert advice was more critical than ever.
“Despite substantial investment, the outlook for the health and resilience of the reef continues to trend downwards. We welcome this opportunity to assist in providing a contemporary evidence base for use by governments and advisors,” Professor Jagadish said.
“The Academy has demonstrated experience harnessing knowledge and expertise across the science sector, and we look forward to documenting the outcomes from these gatherings of experts.”
Academy Fellow Professor Tom Calma named Senior Australian of the Year
The Academy warmly congratulates Fellow Professor Tom Calma AO FAA FASSA who was last night named Senior Australian of the Year, in recognition of his tireless work as a human rights and social justice advocate.
Professor Calma is an Aboriginal Elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group, whose traditional lands are southwest of Darwin and on the Northern Territory’s Cobourg Peninsula.
Professor Tom Calma is recognised for his long-running advocacy work.
He was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2022, and with his appointment as the sixth Chancellor of the University of Canberra in January 2014 Professor Calma became the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander man to hold the position of Chancellor of any Australian university.
For over four decades he has championed the rights, responsibilities and welfare of Indigenous peoples’ health, justice, education, and employment status at local, community, state and international levels.
Alongside his social justice work, Professor Calma’s research interests include pharmacological application for scabies control, genomics, Indigenous cancers and tobacco control, as well as mental health and suicide prevention.
His work continues to have an enduring impact on public discourse in Australia and beyond: he co-led the co-design of a Voice to Parliament initiative, and his call for Australia to address the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples was the catalyst for the Close the Gap Campaign.
Professor Calma was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2012 and named ACT Australian of the Year in 2013 and ACT Senior Australian of the Year in 2023.
He was also recognised with an Australian Hero Tree Dedication of a hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) at the National Arboretum Canberra in 2020.
For over four decades he has championed the rights, responsibilities and welfare of Indigenous peoples’ health, justice, education, and employment status.
Chair of the National Australia Day Council Danielle Roche OAM congratulated the 2023 Australian of the Year Award recipients, who include: Taryn Brumfitt, body image activist and internationally recognised keynote speaker; Awer Mabil, co-founder of a not-for-profit organisation for refugees; and Amar Singh, founder of a charity that transports grocery hampers and emergency goods to those in need.
“The 2023 Australians of the Year are great examples of the Australian spirit. Their courage, determination and fearlessness are an inspiration to us all,” Ms Roche said.
“Individually brilliant, Taryn, Tom, Awer and Amar share a common bond—using their life experience as a power for good, helping others around them and making the world a better place.”
Ms Roche described the recipients as “an extraordinary group of Australians of whom we can all be incredibly proud.”
“Tom has dedicated his life and career to being a champion of equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, lighting the path towards reconciliation,” she said.
The Academy also congratulates the other finalists for the Senior Australian of the Year: Teresa Plane (NSW), Bernard Tipiloura (NT), Claude Lyle Harvey OAM (QLD), Sandra Miller (SA), Dr Frances Donaldson (TAS), Professor Frank Oberklaid AM (VIC), and Theresa Kwok (WA).
More information about Professor Calma is available on his Academy profile.
President of India awards President of Australian Academy of Science
The Indian Government has recognised Australian Academy of Science President Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FREng FTSE for his outstanding achievements in science, technology and education during an international award ceremony.
Professor Jagadish is one of 30 people born in India—now widely dispersed across the world—to receive the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award this year, and the only Indian-Australian.
Professor Jagadish is the only Indian-Australian awardee in 2023.
He travelled from Canberra to receive the award from President Droupadi Murmu during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, held from 8–10 January in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Professor Jagadish said it’s the highest honour given to Indians living overseas by the Indian Government.
“It has been a humbling experience to receive this award from the President of India. I am grateful for this honour from the Government of India for my contributions to science, technology and education.
“I am passionate about doing science and making a difference in other people’s lives; any recognitions are a bonus. I’m grateful to both the Australian and Indian Governments for honouring me and recognising my efforts during the past 35-plus years.”
Having studied by the light of a kerosene lamp until year seven and having lived with his high school maths teacher to be able to finish high school, Professor Jagadish is now recognised as a world leader in the field of semiconductor optoelectronics—with his work widely utilised in optical communication systems and infrared detectors in defence, biomedical and manufacturing.
In 2015, Professor Jagadish and his wife Dr Vidya Jagadish launched the Chennupati and Vidya Jagadish endowment fund to support students and researchers from developing countries to visit Australia and pursue collaborative research.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that an awards committee including the Honourable Vice President and other distinguished members select the awardees, who represent “the excellence achieved by our diaspora in various fields”.
Other recipients in 2023 include the Guyana President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and a businessman who helped evacuate Indian students from Ukraine into Poland when the war with Russia erupted.
Academy Fellow Professor Veena Sahajwalla FAA FTSE received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2011 for her outstanding achievements in science.
Significant Macfarlane Burnet archival collection now available online
Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet demonstrating a method for cultivating virus on the chorioallantoic membrane of chick eggs. The technique, with some adaptations, is still in use today; it was Burnet’s first major contribution to the field of virology and paved the way for mass-production of vaccines.
The Academy’s collection of one of the twentieth century’s most outstanding biologists has been digitised as part of an ongoing collaborative project with the National Library of Australia.
Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet OM AK KBE FAA FRS Nobel Laureate (1899–1985) made a seminal contribution to modern virology, immunology and microbiology. At a time when many of his contemporaries were compelled to pursue opportunities overseas, Burnet was celebrated as the first Australian scientist to win a Nobel Prize (in Physiology or Medicine) for work undertaken in Australia. He and Sir Peter Medawar were jointly awarded in 1960 for their discovery of acquired immunological tolerance. Their findings showed how the immune system learns to recognise and tolerate its own cells—differentiating between the self and the non-self and revolutionising our understanding of immunity and rejection.
Early career
The Frank Macfarlane Burnet collection held in the archives of the Australian Academy of Science is small by archival standards, but significant. It reaches back into his early career, describing work on bacteriophages and animal viruses, particularly influenza virus, that resulted in major discoveries concerning their nature and replication. It touches on the development of Burnet’s ideas concerning immunological tolerance that underpinned his Nobel-winning research and his renowned articulation of clonal selection theory as applied to immunological theory.
The Macfarlane Burnet collection is now freely accessible via Trove and the Academy online catalogue. Highlights include Burnet’s reflections on his many years as Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), his thoughts relating to autoimmune diseases, and his theoretical studies of immunology, immunological surveillance and cancer.
Broader context
There are hints of the broader historical context for many of Burnet’s later years, including political anxiety surrounding the possibility of atomic and biological warfare sparked by the Cold War. The collection contains reports on the potential biological effects of nuclear explosion fallout penned in response to weapons testing in the Pacific during the 1970s and correspondents as varied as prime ministers Menzies and Whitlam, Governor General Richard Casey and founding member of the Australian communist party Katharine Susannah Prichard who questioned Burnet’s steadfast belief that “any attempt to wage germ warfare would be fruitless” and encouraged him to join those protesting the possibility.
The collection reveals Burnet as a scientific generalist with a knack for integrating discoveries made in diverse fields in a series of lectures on the application of science to public health. These papers deal with the broad-ranging implications of advancement in medical research in a tone that reflects both his remarkable creativity and intense distrust of technology that corresponds with occasional scepticism about the future of his field. Sir Gustav Nossal, Burnet’s administrative successor at WEHI, would later recall that the most complex scientific apparatus his mentor ever used was a microscope.
To read more about the life and work of Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, see the biographical memoir authored by Professor Frank Fenner in 1987 or take a look at Burnet’s entry in the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation.
The Academy thanks philanthropist David Anstice, whose support made digitisation of the Frank Macfarlane Burnet collection possible.
The research and experience of Australian scientists forms the foundation on which we build our future, and it is vital that we capture and preserve their stories. Donations from organisations and individuals are welcome. If you would like more information about supporting the archive project, please contact our Philanthropy Manager at philanthropy@science.org.au.
Improvements in emissions reduction and removal in Australia welcomed
Australia needs a credible, high integrity and effective carbon offsets system.
The Australian Academy of Science welcomes the release of the final report from the Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently highlighted the need to remove CO2 from the atmosphere to limit global warming.
Reducing emissions alone will not be sufficient to achieve net zero by 2050 or limit warming to 1.5°C. Greenhouse gases will need to be removed from the atmosphere to achieve these goals.
The review has made a series of recommendations to enhance the transparency, governance, and operation of the system. They include:
- an independent scientific committee to replace the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee, greater access to data, and an emphasis on independent verification and peer-review
- reform of method development designed to encourage agility and innovation
- consideration of how mandatory cancellation of a proportion of claimed offsets can improve the overall integrity of the system.
Academy President Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC PresAA FREng FTSE said Australia needs a credible, high integrity and effective carbon offsets system.
“Both emissions reduction and emissions removal are urgently needed for Australia and the planet,” Professor Jagadish said.
“Australians need to have confidence that our systems for emissions reduction and emissions removal are effective and have high integrity. Australian emissions reduction and removal require solutions designed, implemented, and verified by Australian scientists.
“The recommendations in the report strengthen the integrity of Australia’s greenhouse gas removal efforts.”
Under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) are issued by the Australian Government to certify that one tonne of CO2 (or equivalent warming gases) has either been stored or otherwise not released into the atmosphere. To be eligible to generate ACCUs, projects must comply with offsets integrity standards as listed in Section 133 of the Act.
The Academy was commissioned by the Independent Review Panel to provide a rapid assessment of four methods for generating ACCUs (human-induced regeneration, avoided deforestation, landfill gas, and carbon capture and storage). The report synthesised the science underpinning each method and assesses its strengths and limitations.
Input for the Academy’s assessment was sought from Fellows, members of National Committees for Science, and the Australian research community more broadly, and was peer-reviewed.
Australia’s leading scientists call for ARC to restore support for basic research
The Australian Academy of Science says the lack of coherence supporting Australian research is an indictment of the approach that knowledge is only important if it can be commercialised – or relate to some ill-defined national interest test.
The Academy also says that the current state of Australian research is the consequence of vague strategic Government direction, piecemeal interference over nearly two decades, and ad hoc interventions that have demoralised researchers, minimised efficiency and disadvantaged the nation.
The comments were made in the Academy’s submission, on the review of the Australian Research Council Act, published today.
The submission also says fundamental research should be the primary focus of the ARC.
The submission reads: It is of the utmost importance to the national research system and our national prosperity that the role of the ARC in supporting fundamental research be restored and safeguarded.
The Academy notes while the review of the Australian Research Council Act does not have the scope to consider wider system issues, no review, or recommendations to do with the Australian Research Council (ARC) can occur in a vacuum.
The submission reads: Changes to the role, responsibilities, focus, settings, governance, or legislation of the ARC will invariably influence the operation of the broader research system – without addressing the central problem: 212 research funding programs across 12 Commonwealth Departments.
The submission calls on the Australian Government to commission an independent science and research system review without delay.
It also recommends:
- the establishment of an ARC Council or Board in the Act, with a legislated requirement to have members with diverse research expertise
- the objects of the Act are revised to represent the aspirations and purpose of the ARC, including the responsibility the ARC has on behalf of the Australian people to support fundamental research
- the focus of the Linkage program on collaborations between researchers be restored, and programs on industry engagement and commercialisation be run by a different agency
- that Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) be discontinued and that the ARC modernises its capacity and requirements for data collection and analysis
- that limits be placed on the use of ministerial discretion to disapprove properly assessed research proposals.
The submission says it is instructive that research councils in overseas jurisdictions have different governance structures from that of the ARC. Read the submission and the full list of recommendations for the ARC.