Memorandum 12
Submission from the Australian Institute
of Physics
RE: £80 MILLION
BUDGET CUTS
TO PHYSICS
I am the President of the Australian Institute
of Physics.
I am writing to express the serious concern
of the Australian Physics community at the abrupt set of decisions
made by your government to reduce the funding of important major
physics initiatives and physics research in general. The planned
budget cut of 80 million over the next three years will lead to
job losses at universities and three leading research laboratories;
a 25 per cent cut in university grants; withdrawal from a number
of high-profile programmes such as the International Linear Collider
and lead to some university physics departments losing up to £750,000
in income.
The basis for our concerns is the following:
1. Such a sudden decision to cease involvement
with long term multi-national research programs is damaging the
stellar international reputation of UK science. UK researchers
have been leaders in so many aspects of fundamental research which
at the time did not have any clear path to impact but subsequently
became the basis for modern civilization. The work of Maxwell
and Faraday are two classic examples. The involvement in the multi-national
research programs will have a similar impact on society when they
reach fruition.
2. These decisions were made with a profound
lack of consultation. Many physicists have committed significant
effort to participate and contribute to these international and
large research programs usually with high personal cost, and the
commitment demonstrated is far beyond their financial rewards.
Even researchers at university departments and government laboratories
are committed and effective in their research usually driven by
the desire to undertake work that will make a difference. Sudden
decisions leading to the cutting these research programs is insulting
and belittling of the vocation of a scientist. It is well known
that the financial return for many scientists is not commensurate
with their level of training and hours worked compared to other
professions. Furthermore, the sudden removal of support for multinational
research programs places the burden of funding on other nations
and may put the whole research program which has had significant
investment to date, under threat. Many of these programs are close
to achieving important results that may change the way we understand
the basis of existence and the potential for energy generation.
Many other fundamental research programs may be lost with that
investment wasted.
3. The long term consequences will be far
greater than the relatively small savings in relation to the overall
science research budget. Physics research contributes to 6.4%
(Gross Value Added) of the UK economy which is equivalent to the
financial, banking and insurance sector. 5% of jobs in the UK
are in physics-based technology companies (Centre for Economics
and Business Research Ltd, September 2007). Furthermore the UK
is already beginning to fall behind in international competitiveness.
The current plans to cut physics research will lead to further
exacerbation of this decline and the potential reduction in the
UK industry sectors reliant on physics-based innovation.
4. The lack of support and the demolition
of careers for some physicists will have a ripple effect with
young people not believing that a career in physics is sustainable
or reliable and they will seek out other careers in professions
that are not producing the innovation needed to drive a successful
economy.
I urge your government to reconsider the very
damaging decisions recently made and determine another way to
achieve the reduction in the national budget that your government
is seeking. The savings of 80 million over three years will be
rapidly overshadowed by reduced international economic competitiveness,
reduction in the development of innovative physics—ased
technologies that provide significant employment and economic
activity in the UK, loss of innovation, reduction in young people
aspiring to be the future generation of innovators and irreparable
loss of the high level of international reputation.
February 2008
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