Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Senator Evans. Science is central to our economy and prosperity, and government investment in research is central to maintaining and growing Australia's scientific capacity. There is growing concern amongst our universities and research organisations about the security of science funding. Minister, can you guarantee that science funding will be protected in this financial year? In particular, can you rule out any attempt to defer or freeze ARC, NHMRC or other science grants in an attempt to keep the budget in surplus?