It is ‘budget season’ once again here in Australia – the time of year when government ‘sources’ start to leak like sieves with information regarding proposed measures in the (supposedly) confidential annual accounting to be announced by the Treasurer in May.
This year, we are greatly concerned by reports that the Australian government is considering slashing the budget for medical research funding by nearly 20%. This is a disturbing and short-sighted proposal when the Australian economy remains strong, relative to our major trading partners, and medical research is one of the nation’s great strengths. Australian contributions to medical research and innovation include antibiotics (
Howard Florey), the use of lithium to treat psychiatric disorders (
John Cade), the ‘bionic ear’ (
Graeme Clark) and the cervical cancer vaccine (
Ian Frazer), amongst many others.
Why, then, would the nation put this great legacy at risk to achieve short-term political gains? If you find this as unacceptable as we do, please read on to learn more, and to find out how you can contribute to the various campaigns opposing the proposed cuts.
