Judy Macinolty
WISENET has been able to retain its affiliation with FASTS. The network is pleased to continue to be associated with the good work of FASTS on science policy and government liaison.
Supportive comments from President Clinton and Prime Minister Blair of the national significance of science and technology have been publicised by FASTS, and contrasted with Australia's public attitude to science. Taxation policy for scientific and technological research and development has been discussed.
The following ten questions on science policy were devised by FASTS and sent to each political party before the election to see how they responded to pressing issues related to Science and Technology. (They can also be used in the post-election period as a prod to members of the government and a prompt to the opposition.)
Q1. How will you and your party overcome the serious shortage of qualified science and mathematics teachers in secondary schools and colleges by the year 2000?
Q2. What policies have you and your party to encourage Australian scientists to develop their best ideas, and what funding will you apply to enable them to do so?
Q3. How will you and your party support research and technology to strengthen Australian industries in the bush?
Q4. In the light of technologies which offer huge potential growth and employment, what vision do you and your party have for Australia in the 21st century?
Q5. How do you and your party plan to put our universities back on an internationally competitive footing?
Q6. How will you and your party ensure that Australia has the scientific and technological expertise to manage responsibly the potentially rich resource of the doubling of Australian territory in 2004 under the UN Law of the Sea?
Q7. Do you and your party believe that funds for research should be increased? If so, how and when will you increase them?
Q8. In view of current job insecurity, lack of career paths and low salaries in research, how will you and your party work with industry, providers of venture capital and research organisations to encourage research and the commercialisation of research?
Q9. What will you and your party do to encourage industry to invest in the new ideas and new technologies to generate wealth and jobs in Australia?
Q10. Do you and your party support increased spending to restore the laboratories and libraries of our research organisations?
(This is an abbreviated version of the questions)
Pointing out the vital role of science and technology in rural and regional Australia, FASTS has added: How will you and your party support research and technology to strengthen Australian industries in the bush?
The replies to these questions were on the whole disappointing. Senator Natasha Stott Despoja's reply for the Democrats showed more understanding of the problems facing scientists, research organisations and universities than either of the principle parties, neither of which have a good record in science.