Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

It is the height of cheek to have that question from a former minister who presided over cuts to ANSTO, CSIRO and the Cooperative Research Centres—indeed, I think he saw the demise of three of them during his time in government. Senator Carr presided over a huge cuts in these areas, so for him now to pretend to be their champion is, I must say, a little bit rich.

The Prime Minister is well known for his support of science for research. Indeed, in my home state of Tasmania we have seen an absolute commitment to the Antarctic endeavours with funding for a ship that Labor promised but without funding. As was their wont in so many areas, including in the scientific space, Labor made the promises but then never budgeted for them or provided the funding base. What did we do? We actually provided the funding base for a replacement vessel for the Aurora Australis, which will assist—