Russell calls for bigger role for chief scientist

The role of Australia’s chief scientist should be reviewed and strengthened, according to former diplomat and senior federal public servant Don Russell.

In a speech at the Australian National University on 31 March, Russell said he believed that a chief scientist with increased authority and independence would be “best placed to drive a national research and education effort that makes sense”.

Russell, a former ambassador to Washington and policy adviser to former Prime Minister Paul Keating, was one of three departmental secretaries sacked by Tony Abbott shortly after the Coalition took office in September. His was head of one of the Gillard government’s biggest departments, answering to several ministers and co-ordinating portfolios that included industry, innovation, higher education, research, science and climate change.