Alexandra Kirk reported this story on Thursday, October 18, 2012 18:14:00

BRENDAN TREMBATH: The Federal Government is unfreezing hundreds of millions of dollars of medical research grants after being warned that it could permanently damage Australia's scientific effort.



The Commonwealth imposed the freeze almost two months ago as it searched for spending cuts.



Australian Nobel Laureate, astrophysicist Professor Brian Schmidt, described it as damaging, crazy and counterproductive.



The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) will announce tomorrow more than 1,000 grants.



PM understands some Australian Research Council (ARC) grants are also being unfrozen.



Professor Bob Williamson from the Australian Academy of Science told Alexandra Kirk that common sense has prevailed.



BOB WILLIAMSON: The Academy of Science and many other people told the Government that we would lose scientists because about 2,000 jobs were at risk if they put a freeze on those particular grants.



There are still dangers, there are still things that we hope will be given, but the single most important set of grants - the grants that keep people in jobs, the grants that keep people going, the grants that lead to some of the most exciting research results in Australia - those, we gather, will be announced over the next day or two.



ALEXANDRA KIRK: And what effect, then, do you think that will have?



BOB WILLIAMSON: I think that many people who have been extremely worried about whether they would have a job or not will be reassured that at least their support will continue.



But having said that, we want to see a little more certainty in the system. We want to see grants go for five years, seven years, 10 years, because it's the consistent support of research that leads to really important discoveries.



If you look at Australian science, the fields that we're really good in - fields like immunology, fields like astrophysics - these are fields that have been supported consistently for 10, 20, 30 years by the Government.



Someone like Brian Schmidt would not have come to Australia if he didn't feel there was pretty much a certainty that as long as the research continued to do well, he would be supported. And the young scientists I'm talking to today do not have that feeling of certainty.



And certainly, some of the younger people I've been talking to are beginning to look quite seriously at going to the States or Europe, or even to China or India, where there's now, in many ways, more generous support and more security of support.



ALEXANDRA KIRK: Do you think the Government had any other option than to put this freeze on research grants?



BOB WILLIAMSON: The Government felt that it had to meet its commitment to balance the budget and was looking at all forms of expenditure.



I'm very pleased that good sense prevailed and they agreed that the rounds of research grants that are provided by ARC and NHMRC are going to be announced, and hopefully are going to be funded without any more delay.



There are about 2,000 or 3,000 people whose jobs are on the line, and these people I know are very nervous today while they're waiting for the grants to be announced.



I think the best thing that can be done is to make sure that the very best of these people - because it is only the very best who get the grants - the very best people find out the results and get on with their research, because we're doing a lot of very valuable research.



Valuable research in medicine, valuable research in science, valuable research in engineering, and if we don't get the grants out there, people will leave.



ALEXANDRA KIRK: Has the Government, do you think, now avoided any permanent damage to Australia's research effort?



BOB WILLIAMSON: I hope that the announcements over the next month will be announcements that avoid permanent damage. I think that the single most serious problems have been avoided and I am very pleased at that.



You know, when the mining boom is over, we have to have strong science, strong engineering, strong medicine. That's what's going to keep our country going. And I think in the interests of Australia we want to guarantee that our research effort is not undermined and is generously supported in future.



ALEXANDRA KIRK: Is there a lesson here for the Government to learn about the way that it's handled this freeze on research grants?



BOB WILLIAMSON: I hope that in future they recognise that this particular sector, young people who are coming up and doing the most exciting work, is a particularly precious group of people who must be supported if we're going to have a future scientific research community in our country.



BRENDAN TREMBATH: Professor Bob Williamson from the Australian Academy of Science with Alexandra Kirk.