Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to protest at the actions of the Rudd government in axing funding for high school science centres and its general lack of commitment to science. This government trumpeted its support for maths and sciences before the 2007 election. Its policy paper stated:

For Australia to succeed in a highly competitive global economy our children need to have a strong grasp of basic maths and science …

The document continued:

The foundations of a highly skilled workforce are increasingly laid in the maths and science classrooms of high schools …

Unfortunately, Australians have discovered that what was said in opposition before the election and the actions of the Rudd government since the election are two totally different things. I raised the issue of engaging and supporting young people in the sciences over three years ago when I observed:

… the problem is keeping the youth interested and engaged through high school.

You will never encourage young people in science when they have second-class facilities. The Labor Party has demonstrated its disdain for science with its funding cut for school laboratories and with cuts to such science based organisations as the CSIRO and ANSTO, which were highlighted on 23 June last year.

Labor’s lack of real support for sciences was also referred to by Professor Kurt Lambeck, President of the Australian Academy of Science on The 7.30 Report last month. He was speaking on the necessity for international collaboration to aid in the advancement of science and scientists in Australia. Professor Lambeck was asked about the government’s commitment to international collaboration. He replied:

I think there is a disconnect at the moment. The Minister, Senator Carr, and the Prime Minister, have both talked about the importance of it, but we haven’t seen that filtering through yet into actual actions.

And what we have seen instead, for example, is the effectively the closing town of many of our Commonwealth science officers in our overseas postings.

…            …            …

And the cutting back of the funding for some of our international bilateral exchange programs likewise is really making it difficult to develop, to maintain these ceding grounds that have been so important in the past.

So the actions are not necessarily compatible with what the ambitions are of the Government.

In other words, what this government says and what it does are poles apart, as usual.

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