Labor accused of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ for axing $760m research program to fund other science measures

The federal government has been accused of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” over the budget axing of a $760m research commercialisation program in order to fund other science initiatives. The budget includes a $387.4m boost to “support the financial sustainability” of the beleaguered national science agency CSIRO, as well as $273m for the National Measurement Institute. But the government plans to pay for these measures by “returning uncommitted funding from the Australia’s Economic Accelerator program, which is expected to decrease payments by $759.9m over the five years to 2029–30”. The axing of the program, which was established in 2023 to “support the translation of research into real‑world economic and social benefits”, has angered researchers who say the decision undermines the government’s own priorities. In a statement on the AEA website, it said funding for new projects “will not continue beyond the 2025–26 financial year”, with current grants unchanged. Prof Melanie Davern, director of the Australian Urban Observatory at RMIT University, learned on Monday that she had wasted months preparing an AEA grant proposal for a funding round that closed in March. Davern expressed frustration at the axing of program funding “applied research that would have major social, economic, environmental benefits”. “There is nothing [else] available that will support this,” she said. …