Scientists have reacted angrily to industry minister Ian Macfarlane’s description of them as “precious petals”, while the Greens have demanded that he apologise for the remarks.

On Wednesday, Macfarlane, who has science in his portfolio, said he would not accept “crap” criticism of Tony Abbott’s decision to do without a dedicated science minister in cabinet.

“It really does annoy me, because there is no one, no one, more passionate about science than I am,” he said. “I am the grandson and son of a scientist, and I give science more than their share of my time, and just because I’m not the minister for energy, do I hear the whinge from [the energy sector]? No.



“But I hear it constantly from some of the precious petals, can I say, some of the precious petals in the science fraternity, and if you can’t guess, I won’t accept it.”

The remarks went down badly with many scientists, microbiologist Mel Thomson posting a picture on Twitter of her freezing petals with liquid nitrogen, ready to be smashed by a hammer. Criticism of Macfarlane has also been emblazoned on a T-shirt.

Ready to record my response to being accused of being a #PreciousPetal pic.twitter.com/Xuc9PCTIXA — Dr Mel Thomson (@Dr_Mel_Thomson) September 10, 2014

Sam Popovski, secretary of the CSIRO staff association, said Macfarlane’s comments were unhelpful at a time when the government is slashing funding to the science agency.

“Quite clearly, we reject the characterisation of scientists as precious petals, that’s just not appropriate,” he told Guardian Australia. “It’s important we call for a science minister because science is at the core of the challenges Australia faces, from the environment to creating jobs.

“This is a live issue for the scientists at the CSIRO. In the context of this government’s climate change scepticism and defunding of important research, it’s important to note there is no science minister.”

Popovski said he was meeting with Macfarlane at the end of September and will raise concerns over the 1,300 people set to lose their jobs at CSIRO due to government budget cuts.

“I suppose I’ll find out how passionate he is about science then,” he said. “We would certainly prefer the minister to be talking up science and the contribution it makes rather than incorrectly characterising scientists.”

Upulie Divisekera, a molecular biologist, said scientists were making their voices heard about the long-term importance of science and research.

“By saying that we’re being “precious petals” for complaining about this approach is precious, unhelpful, but incredibly short-sighted,” she said. “The minister has effectively said “some of my best friends are scientists but stop complaining. That is not good enough.”

Another scientist, astrophysics researcher Katie Mack of the University of Melbourne, said she was “dismayed” by Macfarlane’s comments.

“The Australian scientific community is getting some real mixed messages lately about the role of science advocacy, but the thing that seems clear is that we don’t have an ally in government – at least not in minister Macfarlane,” she said.

The Greens said that Macfarlane should apologise for his comments, claiming that he has added insult to injury after the budget made cuts to science funding, including taking $111m over four years from the CSIRO.

“It is unacceptable for Ian MacFarlane to insult the country’s science establishment when he is meant to be advocating on their behalf,” said Adam Bandt, the Greens’ deputy leader.

Following the Coalition’s election win last year, Abbott decided not to have a dedicated science minister – a position that has been in cabinet since the 1930s. Instead, the role was folded into Macfarlane’s portfolio, along with energy and skills.

Last week, Macfarlane said that scientists needed to do more to raise their influence in public life.

“If you are feeling a little irrelevant in the community, the answer is to make yourself more relevant,” he said.

Macfarlane had not responded to a request to clarify his comments at the time of publication.

This article was amended on 11 September to include a more complete version of what Ian Macfarlane said.