Science and the Coalition: two big policies, one year and no minister

On science and technology, the Abbott government is somewhat of a paradox. On one hand, the government passionately believes that deregulating the university sector is essential. By taking caps off fees it hopes this will generate the necessary income to transform the higher education sector into an international powerhouse. The government also floated the idea of developing a A$20 billion investment fund for medical research based upon a Medicare co-payment. These two signature policies could represent seismic shifts to the sector, the results of which are difficult to predict. Even the most passionate left-winger would have to concede that this is hardly the action of an anti-science government. But here's the catch. The funding of these new sources of revenue for research are, in effect, new “toxic taxes” that will hit “working families” at a level that will make the carbon tax look like a bargain. Extra costs draw the ire of Palmer United Party senators, and the Abbott government is facing the problem that its two signature policies may end up in the shredder. So if that happens, what's left?