The Abbott government got off on the wrong foot with Australia's scientific sector when it failed to appoint an explicitly titled Minister for Science after its election. Reacting to the disgruntlement felt in the science community at this perceived snub, at the 2013 Prime Minister's Prizes for Science, the Prime Minister asserted that it didn't matter: that his government should be judged by its performance, not by its titles.

The Prime Minister was right. His government - all governments - should be judged by their performance and not their titles. But now a year has passed, and so it's time to do just that.

Under the microscope: As far as science is concerned, the Prime Minister's performance has been fairly dismal. Credit:Janie Barrett

Sadly, as far as science is concerned, the Prime Minister's naming failure matches up with a fairly dismal performance as well.

There are three broad areas of the government's approach to science that are worth looking at: funding, scientific advice and what it wants science to be.