The Herald welcomes this public expression of support for science and rationality. However, we worry that displays of hubris or overt attempts to politicise the debate for narrow self-interest could cause a backlash among the very people the organisers claim to be speaking to: members of the public who do not trust science. Perhaps for this reason, the Australian Academy of Science has not endorsed the marches but is relaxed about its Fellows attending. Thanks to science, most of humanity now has the right to expect long, healthy lives, with clean, running water and guaranteed education and literacy. Through transformative medical science, many diseases have been eradicated and engineers are planning how humans can permanently settle on Mars within three decades. However, in February this year, Australia's chief scientist, Alan Finkel, told a symposium at the Australian National University that "science is literally under attack". Dr Finkel was referring to the newly elected US President's executive orders requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to submit all data to a political appointee before they can be published.

The election of Donald Trump has alarmed most of the scientific community. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Mr Trump's proposed 2018 budget would cut $US6 billion from the National Institutes of Health and 52 per cent from the budget of the research office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the US equivalent of the Bureau of Meteorology. The only scientific funding boost would be for research into nuclear weapons, according to the AAAS. As the incoming dean of science at the University of NSW, Professor Emma Johnston, said in a Herald opinion piece recently: "When the world's scientists emerge from their labs and take to the streets, there must be something very important at stake." Granted, the Australian government continues to invest strongly in science through public universities, the Australian Research Council, CSIRO and National Health and Medical Research Council. In 2015 the federal government committed $1.1 billion over four years to science through the National Innovation and Science Agenda.

In 2016-17 the federal government promises to invest $10.1 billion in the science, research and innovation system. However, there is no room for complacency. Dropping rates of vaccination in some parts of Australia are a worrying sign that trust in science is slipping. And despite large government funding for science, Australia has slipped below the OECD average for investment in research and development. According to a poll released this week by the Australian National University 82 per cent of Australians believe politicians should rely more on expert scientific advice. This is a sensible idea. While we are nowhere near the situation of the United States, there are worrying signs at the fringes of politics that an irrational approach to policy is making inroads. The science around climate change is a case in point. There is overwhelming scientific consensus that at least a proportion of climate change is caused by humans. Yet federal and state governments continue to develop policy designed to assuage fringe notions that climate change doesn't even exist, or if it does is a purely natural phenomenon. Another cause for concern is parliamentary representation. According to the Australian Academy of Sciences, only 23 of Australia's 226 federal MPs have any sort of background in science and engineering.

Australians are not used to scientists and engineers being public figures. While there are concerns about the framing of the March for Science in Australia, the Herald hopes it will contribute to a strengthening of rationality and scientific expertise in the public policy that underpins our continued high living standards. 'A note from the editor' – to have Herald editor Lisa Davies' exclusive weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox sign up here: www.smh.com.au/editornote