The politicization of scientific funding
An eminent Queensland scientist has claimed that the process for selecting board members for research councils needs to be changed, in order to take the politics out the process. Professor Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor with Griffith University, claims that two prominent stem cell scientists and up to a dozen climate change scientists had left the country, because they felt political pressure has creating a less than receptive environment for their research. Professor Lowe told The Wire the problem was due in part to ministers having increased power to appoint directors to the boards that are charged with the responsibility of selecting candidates for research funding. Earlier Professor Lowe outlined the problem, starting with the structure of the ethics committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council.