Thu, 09 Jan 2025 - 10:11
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InnovationAus - Positions Vacant: Chief Scientist and innovation advisory roles still open

Australia has started 2025 without a Chief Scientist and without a chair or deputy chair for its primary industry, innovation and science advisory board.

Former Australian chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley’s four years in the role concluded on December 31, when she completed a one-year extension to her original three-year contract. A replacement for Dr Foley has not yet been named.

Industry, Innovation and Science Australia (IISA) chair Andrew Stevens completed the second of two terms on December 17 with a replacement still to be nominated.

While the Chief Scientist is appointed by the Prime Minister, the IISA chair is appointed by the Minister for Industry and Science.

The recruitment processes for both roles is still underway, with the government confirming only that a new chief scientist would be named in early in 2025 and that the process for appointing another IISA chair was ongoing.

It is more than a decade since the role of Australia’s Chief Scientist has been left vacant even for a short period. The absence of a chief scientist has a knock-on effect for other advisory bodies.

As the Prime Minister’s top advisor on scientific issues, the Chief Scientist is the executive officer of the Australian Government’s National Science and Technology Council, which is chaired by Anthony Albanese with Ed Husic as deputy, and the chief executive of the CSIRO as an ex officio member.

The Chief Scientist also acts as deputy chair of IISA – meaning that since the departures of Cathy Foley and Andrew Stevens from their respective roles, the organisation currently has no chair and no deputy chair.

IISA has two key responsibilities under its legislation: The oversight of portfolio innovation programs, and to provide strategic advice to government on industry innovation.

But while the IISA board is legislated to have up to 15 members from across Australia, it currently has just five. It might look like a skeleton crew, but the government says the IISA board continues to provide advice to government on matters relating industry, innovation, science and research.

Opposition Science spokesman Paul Fletcher says Australia’s world-leading scientists “would be rightly dismayed” that a replacement for Cathy Foley as the nation’s top scientific advisor had not yet been appointed.

“Labor has had more than enough time to find a replacement for this crucial role,” he said. “It is simply lazy and disorganised not to have chosen and announced a new chief scientist by now.”

Mr Fletcher, who has announced that he will not contest his federal seat of Bradfield at the looming election, says that Labor “needs to lift its game and start prioritising science and innovation”.

“Since taking office Labor’s track record in the Science portfolio has been underwhelming, with its inexplicable decisions including significant funding cuts to Australia’s space program and betting almost $1 billion of taxpayers’ money in American company PsiQuantum.”

It is not unprecedented for Australia to spend a period without a chief scientist, although it is highly unusual. Certainly in the past decade or more, the chief scientist replacement has been named prior to the end of term for the current chief scientist.

The position of Australia’s Chief Scientist was created by the Hawke Government in 1989 as a part-time position with the appointment of ecologist and former Perth Modern School alum Ralph Slatyer. It replaced a precursor position of Chairman of the Australian Science and Technology Council.

Since the chief scientist role was made a full-time position in 2008, the longest period that the role has been vacant is about three months in 2011 when renowned astronomer Penny Sackett stepped down due to “personal and professional reasons”.

Prior to the role becoming full-time, the longest period that Australia has gone without a sitting chief scientist was 10 months between 2005 and 2006, when Robin Batterham stepped aside due to a conflict of interest with his ongoing role as chief technologist for Rio Tinto.