Closer inspection of the government’s research infrastructure plan by the Australian Academy of Humanities has revealed that the bulk of the $53.4M allocated to Platforms for HASS over the next five years will not deliver for the 41% of the national research workforce that works in the HASS sector. AAH President Professor Joy Damousi points out that ‘$43M for a new building for CSIRO to house a national collection of animal and plant specimens to support biological knowledge and $2.1M for the Atlas of Living Australia can in no way be construed as an investment in HASS research’. The AAH has reiterated the need for long overdue investment in HASS research infrastructure. ‘For a nation to be smart, we need to be smart about how we support our cultural institutions and our HASS researchers to be world leaders. Decisions like this hold back Australian research and impacts our international contribution and standing,’ said Professor Damousi.
The Research Infrastructure Investment Plan is available at: https://docs.education.gov.au/node/50601