The Australian government’s scientific institutions have attended more than a dozen universities to send surveys from the Trump administration to see if it matches the interests of the US government.
On Tuesday, CSIRO revealed it had received a correspondence from the US. A CSIRO spokesperson said he had received the survey in recent weeks and was aware of a “minority” of researchers who have “determined the right answer.”
The issues include whether organizations will receive funding from China, whether the climate is an “environmental justice” project, and whether they are taking “appropriate measures” to defend “gender ideology” in line with Trump’s executive order on gender.
Seven universities, including Australian National University, Monash University, Sydney Institute of Technology, University of New South Wales, Charles Darwin University, Macquarie University and Western Australia, have been cutting US funding since the Trump administration came to power.
Separately, researchers from at least 13 universities receiving US funding have been sent to the survey and are seeking answers to more than 30 questions within 48 hours to support “program decisions,” a university source told the Guardian.
Approximately 40% of Australian Physics publications involve American collaborators, including vaccine development, cyclone tracking capabilities, and monitoring, forecasting and responding observation systems for extreme weather events.
“CSIRO has many touchpoints with the US government as part of our research portfolio,” a CSIRO spokesperson said.
“As the situation is still developing, it is too early to speculate on how changes in the US will affect CSIRO’s US collaboration and partnerships. However, CSIRO has not received formal advice that scientific cooperation will be affected.”
That comes as the federal government is putting pressure on responding to US attacks on scientific funds.
Last week, the Australian Academy of Sciences called on the Prime Minister to “convene an emergency meeting of the National Council of Science and Technology to “comprehensively assess the extent of Australia’s exposure to US R&D investments and develop a “risk mitigation strategy.”
Speaking to ABC on Monday, Minister of Education Jason Claire was asked whether the Trump administration questionnaire constituted foreign interference, as the National Union of Higher Education claimed.
“No, I don’t think so,” he replied. “This is a US fundraising research, a US university that works with Australian universities. Ultimately, it’s up to the US to find out what research you want to fund.”
Claire said the education sector is “starting to get more information” about research cuts, but he said it came from a review that the US government has begun to foreign aid.
“I was caught up in that research,” he said. “The Australian Embassy in Washington is working with the US department to better understand this.
Skip past newsletter promotions
News Sign up for Australia
Get the most important news while breaking
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising, and content funded by external parties. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. We use Google Recaptcha to protect our website and the application of Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
After the newsletter promotion
“We expect the results of the review launched by the US in the second half of April will be clearer.”
When asked whether the Australian government would consider filling the funding gap, Claire said it would be “not practical” to undertake foreign research.
University of Australia CEO Luke Sheehee told ABC on Tuesday that he was “really wary” that Australia’s biggest research funder responded in this way to about 600mA.
“The US doesn’t give this money to Australia. It’s looking for our expertise. I’m really worried that after decades of collaboration, all of this could be at risk,” he said.
“The new administration is clearly hoping they have… it’s allied with their worldview and whether that $600 million in funding matches that.”
Professor Chennepati Jagadish, chairman of the Australian Academy of Sciences, said the US has become an “unpredictable” partner and is under threat to Australia’s strategic research and development capabilities “everyday”.
“Take a waiting approach to managing Australia’s national strategy [research and development] Ability is dangerous, and the consequences of inaction are profound,” he said.
“We know that CSIRO is part of the large R&D system that Australians rely on.
