Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I thank honourable senator for her question. The short answer to your question is 'no' and I will explain why. First and foremost, what has happened with the CSIRO in this announcement is an operational decision of the organisation. After an extensive review by the management of CSIRO, they stated the need to reorganise the organisation to better fulfil its mission as outlined in its strategic plan. Advice from the CSIRO is that the realignment will take roughly two years and that there will be no net job losses across the agency. As such, any suggestion that this is the result of changes to the CSIRO budget is incorrect. And it is not the role of the Prime Minister or of the minister for science to sign off on staffing changes of an independent agency.

I can also add that there is a realignment of activity within the climate change division and that the stories reported in the media today, including in the Sydney Morning Herald, to which you are referring are factually wrong. First and foremost, is CSIRO will continue their relationship with the Department of the Environment on the National Environmental Science Program. It will still be spending $83 million a year on climate change research and the oceans and atmosphere division of the CSIRO will continue to employ more than 300 people. However, there will be a stronger focus on abatement and mitigation strategies. In the words of the CSIRO CEO, Larry Marshall:

We have spent probably a decade trying to answer the question is the climate changing … After Paris that question has been answered. The next question now is what do we do about it.