The claims came on the same day that Prime Minister Tony Abbott sought to position his government as the best friend of scientific research and development.

During a visit to Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre on Tuesday, Mr Abbott admitted there would be funding reductions for universities, but he claimed research itself would expand "massively" under his government.

"We want to get our higher education changes through – that's what we want to do," he said when asked if research funding would be cut even further if higher education changes remain blocked in Parliament.

"We want to get our higher education changes through because they will be good for universities, they will be good for research, they will be good for Australia, but what we are doing is we are modestly reducing government funding but at the same time we are liberating – we are liberating – our universities to achieve what they can because if there is one institution that ought to be capable of looking after its own affairs it is a university, which is, by definition, a bastion of our best and brightest.

"But I want to stress here at the Peter Mac – this is a government which is dedicated to science, which is devoted to research, and wants to massively increase Australia's research effort."