At a time when funding for science is scarce and the public rejects expertise, voters and politicians need to be convinced that research funding is as an investment, not a cost, writes Darren Saunders.
Government should find the money to fund universities and research in line with the kind of country Australia should hope one day to become, writes Rob Brooks.
UNSW researchers working to fast-track cancer treatments from the laboratory to the bedside have received major backing in the latest round of funding from The Cancer Institute NSW.
New drug trials for treating HIV infection, major depression and helping smokers quit are among the UNSW projects that have received major backing in the latest round of federal government medical research funding.
“Why wasn’t my grant funded?” Given most research funding agencies have success rates of 20% or less, this is a question asked by the majority of applicants every year, writes Merlin Crossley.
To secure Australia’s future and protect the country’s research capability, the Turnbull government needs to make science policy that transcends political lines, writes Les Field.
Reports that Treasurer Joe Hockey has refused to back down on plans to strip $4 billion from school and hospital funding in the May budget will do little to repair relations between the States and the Commonwealth, writes Andrew Lynch.
A leaked mental health review reportedly recommends re-directing $1billion from acute hospital services to community services. The proposal risks causing a major destabilisation of the public mental health system, writes Phil Mitchell.