Posted on behalf of Stephen Pincock
Australia’s outgoing chief scientist had just one opportunity to brief the prime minister in the two and a half years she held the post, politicians have heard.
Astrophysicist Penny Sackett surprised the Australian research community last week by announcing her resignation, halfway through a five-year tenure as the government’s top scientific advisor. In a vague statement, she said there were “personal and professional reasons” for the decision. “Institutions, as well as individuals grow and evolve,” she said. “The time is now right for me to seek other ways to contribute.”
Some had been expecting Sackett would reveal more during a scheduled appearance at a Senate estimates hearing today. The anticipated fireworks did not pan out, but under questioning she acknowledged that she had never been asked to brief the current prime minister, Julia Gillard, who rose to power in June 2010.
“I have not met, in her role as prime minister, Prime Minister Gillard. I have met with Prime Minister Rudd [Gillard’s predecessor] to give a direct personal briefing once," she told the hearing. Neither had she been asked to advise Rudd in the lead-up to the Copenhagen climate conference, or been invited to attend, she confirmed.
Innovation minister Kim Carr told the hearing he had met Sackett on average once a month. “We have regular dialogue on a range of matters, and of course formal briefings are presented.” Nevertheless, Sackett’s testimony has fuelled suspicions among scientists that she quit in frustration over her inability to influence policy-making.
“I don’t think the chief scientist’s role is very highly regarded by Australian governments,” said Peter Doherty, a Nobel prize-winning immunologist from the University of Melbourne. Doherty said Sackett was a victim of the new political landscape in Australia that evolveed while she was in office, largely shaped by the fact that the government is now in a minority. “I think new appointee would have to be pretty naïve going into this parliament if they thought they were going to make much of a difference, except on something the government is already looking to do, such as putting a price on carbon.”
“I suspect that Penny Sackett probably signed up for a job that was different to the one that she ended up having to do,” agreed materials scientist Cathy Foley, president of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies, who served with Sackett on the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council. “I think when it comes to policy development, science has been the loser for the sake of political concerns.”
Before taking up the AUS$300,000-a-year government job, Sackett had been director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University.
“She’s a fearless leader and someone with extraordinary passion and commitment,” said Foley. “She has made an outstanding contribution to the science sector and provided invaluable expertise on issues on the national agenda.”
Sackett’s former colleague at the Australian National University, astronomer Brian Schmidt, said she was not afraid to speak the truth as she saw it. “She had the guts to play the chief scientist’s role very, very straight.”
Sackett’s last day in the job will be 4 March, and the government has said that it has already begun the search for her successor. “I think they need to get someone who is vocal but well-judged and from the physical sciences or climate-science side of things,” suggested Doherty.