Latest news with #SusanTonks
ABC News
06-08-2025
- Business
- ABC News
CSIRO could be facing hundreds more job cuts this year, union warns
There are fears hundreds more Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) jobs could be axed this year, the union has warned. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) issued a statement on Thursday morning saying that Australia's national science agency was enduring its "biggest job cuts in a decade". Last year, 440 positions were slashed, and the CPSU said "approximately 200 contract jobs were left to expire, with hundreds more cuts expected to be made to research units later this year". The union said it had made a submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable, warning the nation's capacity for productivity and innovation was being "actively undermined". The union is calling for the federal government to intervene to prevent further proposed cuts. CSIRO Staff Association section secretary Susan Tonks said there was a "clear disconnect between the government's talk about boosting productivity and their failure to support the very institution that helps deliver it". "But deep job cuts at the CSIRO are directly undermining Australia's ability to innovate, compete and grow. And this will continue to be the case as long as this government sits on its hands while hundreds of staff at the CSIRO are shown the door with little to no explanation. "If this government is serious about productivity, it must step in, stop the cuts, and back our country's peak science institution." The CSIRO has been contacted for comment. Ms Tonks said concern among staff was high. "If you're looking at the May budget papers and the workshops … there's workshops coming up to assess what science will be done, and what research will continue in September," she said. "And looking at all the numbers and everything that's coming up, it's looking highly likely that there will be similar numbers [to last year's cuts] coming across the research portfolio. "There's still assessments to be done, but given what we've just come out of, the anxiety and the concern and anger from staff is high." She said it was "hard to say" which areas within the CSIRO would be targeted. "But I think everything's going to be looked at," she said. "Looking at recent conversations with staff in preparation for some of those that are going to go through, there's quotes like, 'We need to be simpler as an organisation, we need to exit some areas and do fewer things better.'" She said it was "unsettling" for staff who had already been through recent changes, and warned some might not remain at the CSIRO if uncertainty lingered. "It's worth noting, public investment in research and development is what delivers innovation, it increases productivity," Ms Tonks said. "The CSIRO's been behind some of the most important scientific innovations that we've had in Australia. "We need to make sure that we back it."
The Guardian
06-08-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Hundreds more CSIRO jobs on the chopping block as experts raise fears over impact on science
Hundreds more jobs could be axed at Australia's national science agency, sparking concerns the country is gutting its research capability just as the Trump administration makes deep cuts into the sector in the US. The latest potential research job losses at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) follow 440 positions being cut last financial year and earlier deep reductions under the Coalition government, including 300 in 2016. They coincide with the Trump administration slashing science agencies in the US, with warnings the loss of expertise could have global ramifications in health, climate science and weather forecasting. The Community and Public Sector Union said the Australian cuts were at odds with the Albanese government's promise to prioritise economic productivity and urged the government to instead increase investment in the CSIRO. Susan Tonks, the union's CSIRO spokesperson, said: 'There's a clear disconnect between the government's talk about boosting productivity and their failure to support the very institution that helps deliver it.' Sign up: AU Breaking News email A CSIRO spokesperson confirmed the agency was 'reshaping its research portfolio' with a goal of making it more financially sustainable, but did not indicate how many jobs might be lost. They said the changes were in part due to the end of Covid-19 'safety net' funding and other government savings measures, and would 'ensure we are focused on delivering the science Australia needs now and into the future'. David Karoly, a University of Melbourne emeritus professor who previously worked at CSIRO, said the cuts were not being offset elsewhere. He said Australia had lower levels of industry funding in research than comparable countries. 'There's a dilemma as to whether Australia wants to support the research infrastructure that's needed to support ongoing research activities in science,' he said. 'The simple answer is Australia doesn't appear to want to do that.' The latest cuts were understood to primarily affect the CSIRO's agriculture and food research unit, with reductions in health and safety, IT and business development. Research unit staff were expected to be informed about funding and staffing changes by October. The May federal budget papers showed an expected 450 person reduction in CSIRO staff, from 5,945 in 2024-25 to 5,495 this financial year. The union said the cuts were the worst since 2014, when the Abbott government oversaw an estimated 20% reduction in staff. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Tonks said the agency's staff were experiencing 'deep anxiety' over the CSIRO's strategic direction and the cuts were 'directly undermining Australia's ability to innovate, compete and grow'. 'This will continue to be the case as long as this government sits on its hands while hundreds of staff at the CSIRO are shown the door with little to no explanation,' she said. 'If this government is serious about productivity, it must step in, stop the cuts, and back our country's peak science institution.' The CSIRO also confirmed it would sell its stake in the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, in Perth's northern suburbs, by the end of 2025. The agency said it was a 'small partner', owning about 15% of the Watermans Bay site. A spokesperson said the agency remained 'committed to the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre partnership'.
