National science agency to shed 92 jobs, mostly from environment and climate modelling teams
Updated ,first published
Australia’s national science agency has confirmed it will cut 92 jobs, the majority of which will come from its environmental and climate modeling teams.
Staff were called to town hall meetings across the country at 11am on Thursday to explain the redundancies, which were first announced in November, before consultation with staff and stakeholders took place.
In March, a CSIRO spokesman said a comprehensive review of the agency’s research portfolio had identified “complementary and duplicative capabilities” in the environmental research unit created by a previous merger of two units.
“Proposed changes affect 102 FTEs [full-time equivalent] “This aims to reduce duplication, better integrate science across disciplines, more effectively address critical national challenges and maximize the impact of science within available funding.”
After a period of consultation and feedback, the agency announced it would cut 92 jobs, 10 fewer than originally anticipated.
The agency announced it would place a “renewed emphasis” on climate adaptation and resilience research to deliver “practical science.”
“CSIRO is making significant strategic research changes to focus its efforts on where we can make the greatest national impact,” the spokesman said.
“To achieve this sharpened focus, we are exiting research in areas where we do not have the scale to make a significant impact or where other companies in the industry are better positioned to deliver.”
Critics said this would shift CSIRO’s research focus from climate change mitigation to adaptation.
The losses cap a tumultuous period for staff at the organisation, with more than 300 positions axed in the current round of redundancies, following the loss of nearly 800 jobs last year.
CSIRO staff fear for the future of the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS) model, created in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology, universities and international partners.
ACCESS is a system that “provides national weather, climate and Earth system modeling capability for operations and research,” according to CSIRO. It is used by climate scientists across the country to support and inform their own research and modeling on the impacts of climate change on landscapes, oceans, animals and agricultural sustainability.
It is understood that five of the 15 expert climate modelers working on ACCESS will lose their jobs.
The outages come as forecasts grow for the El Niño weather pattern, which usually brings flood risks to the Americas and raises the possibility of severe droughts in parts of Asia and eastern Australia.
Science Minister Tim Ayres said it was up to the CSIRO board to determine where cuts were made, but he supported the organisation’s move to make targeted cuts to specific programs such as climate modelling.
“The CSIRO needs to make decisions. It’s a matter of how the board and management of the CSIRO present it,” Ayres told ABC radio.
“In terms of the modeling approach, I’ll let CSIRO themselves answer that question. I’m just saying they need to make decisions about ensuring CSIRO is successful in solving major national challenges for Australia.”
Ayres said the government had provided sufficient funding for the CSIRO to achieve its objectives as the chief science organisation.
“Our role here for the government is to provide leadership to the CSIRO and make sure they have the budgetary scope to put them on a sustainable path.”
Leading climate scientist Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, president of the Australian Society of Meteorology and Oceanography, said cutting a third of the specialized workforce would devastate the CSIRO’s capacity to predict and model the effects of climate change.
“We’re basically working on a dial-up modem without the ACCESS model,” he said.
Science and Technology Australia director general Ryan Winn said CSIRO’s research was contributing to global climate models, and Australia was the only country in the southern hemisphere contributing to these models.
“We have a national and regional responsibility to continue this role,” he said.
“If no funding can be found to maintain this important capability, it could have devastating effects for a number of research organizations and advisory bodies that rely on this data.
“This scientific data supports information used to manage food production and keep costs of living low. This is our best defense against devastating floods and bushfires that send insurance costs through the roof.”
The Australian government has committed a further $387.4 million to the agency through forward estimates in this month’s federal budget. on May 9 A CSIRO statement said: This funding will support the agency’s sustainability and “provide greater stability for the workforce.”
CSIRO Staff Association secretary Susan Tonks said the cuts would harm the agency’s science capacity.
“All roles are important, but we know that CSIRO’s climate research is critical to maintaining accurate modeling in the southern hemisphere as part of the global science effort,” he said.
Bianca Hall is The Age’s environment and climate correspondent and has worked in a variety of roles including senior writer, city editor and the federal policy office in Canberra.Connect with: X, Facebook or email.
Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
