Labor to give science ‘central role’ in federal policy decisions

A federal Labor government would put science “at the heart” of its policies and set national targets to increase R&D spending, opposition leader Bill Shorten has told a meeting in Canberra.

In a reference to the policy influence of far-right media commentators on issues such as climate change, Shorten pledged that “shock jocks and after-dark cable television will not determine the academic or scientific direction of this nation” under a Labor government.

In a speech to the Australian Academy of Science on 28 November, he said Labor would allocate 3 per cent of GDP to research funding, up from 1.9 per cent now.