The Australian Research Council has been moved to education minister Christopher Pyne’s portfolio, just over a week after it was assigned to industry minister Ian Macfarlane.
Pyne will also take over responsibility for research policy and research infrastructure. The switch follows confusion over which minister would be responsible for overseeing university research, or whether vice-chancellors would need to deal with two ministers.
There was also confusion over whether the ARC belonged in the industry portfolio. Universities Australia chief executive Belinda Robinson suggested linking science and research with industry policy acknowledged the role of research in “driving national productivity”.
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