Australia Needs Better Science

For this post I thought I'd delve into politics for a bit, a change of topic from my other posts.

At its heart scientific progression requires funding. Even with ample manpower the scientific community has, it requires funds to do research, do experimentations and further current knowledge. Under the current Australian government there appears to be a deficit when it comes to the allocation of government funds to research initiatives. As a first world nation aiming to be at the forefront of research and development in all of the major fields of science, Australia needs its government to make scientific funding a priority. 

The role of scientific policy is not as influential as it should be. In the face of increasing global acceptance of climate change the Australian government needs to be able to access well documented research to make informed decisions. These informed decisions are likely to result in the reduction of unnecessary costs, particularly valuable given that Australia has at current a financial deficit. However this is difficult to achieve if the scientific community is being chocked by a lack of funding. The scientific community as a whole also needs to be given more spotlight on its contribution to society to increase awareness and build stronger relations between it and the wider public. 

If I were to provide a recommendation to increase scientific exposure, I would say that the first and most important thing this government needs to do is create an ‘untouchable’ reserve of funds far greater than the current $20 billion in place. The initial outlay of cash would, I believe, result in major future savings. Despite increased costs, as discussed by Australian Chief Scientist Professor Ian Chubb, “future generations also need a future”(Chubb, 2014) and this future requires strong scientific faculties. In medicine, engineering, biomedical fields and many more, scientific progression yields more efficient ways of doing things. In turn these improved methods and practices are certainly going to streamline production and health care, which are currently major consumers of government funds and encourage more people to enter scientific fields.

Thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts, please write them in the comments section below.

Sources:

CHUBB, P. I. 2014. Need a 'whole of government' approach to science. In: ALBERIC, E. (ed.) ABC Lateline.