Abbott's Gone, But CSIRO Cuts Go On; Research Ship Rented Out To BP, Chevron To Fill Budget Holes
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Researchers in the Oceans and Atmosphere division were told in a memo on Tuesday from director Ken Lee that the unit had to find $1.6 million in additional savings over the next eight months and close a $2.7 million gap on its external revenue target of $42.3 million. Another $4 million must be found next financial year, staff say.
The unit's heads will meet Dr Marshall on December 4, four days after Mr Turnbull is due to address the Paris summit about Australia's commitment to combat climate change. Roger Jones, a former CSIRO scientist now at Victoria University, said the funding cull had been launched under former PM Tony Abbott and there was still time for Mr Turnbull to change course: "It's inviting a captain's call". "Australia has been one of the major contributors of science to the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] over the past 20 years," Dr Jones said. "Current levels of research have been taken to where it's unsustainable."
Scientists say existing research is already struggling. For instance, CSIRO's new research vessel, the $120 million RV Investigator, can only go to sea for 180 days a year because of funding limits. It has also been hired out to energy giants BP and Chevron seeking to explore for oil and gas.
"International partners are gobsmacked" by shortfalls that meant CSIRO was almost unable to pay for satellite time earlier this year, another senior scientist said. "We have millions of dollars of equipment out there, and we'd have no way to call home," the researcher said. "The ride is getting wilder and the boat is getting smaller."
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http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/captains-call-plea-as-more-csiro-job-cuts-loom-on-eve-of-paris-climate-summit-20151124-gl6jsy.html
