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Budget protects medical research funding
Posted 12 May 2011
The Australian government has protected medical research funding in the 2011-12 budget, recently announced. This followed eight weeks of concerted action by medical researchers and the community to maintain Australia’s medical research funding and productivity.
It was widely suggested in early March that the government had planned to cut the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) budget, which funds the bulk of Australia’s medical research.
Professor Matthew Gillespie, director of Prince Henry’s Institute said he was pleased to see that medical research was at least protected from funding cuts. “Our teams of scientists have been working hard to develop new diagnoses and treatments that can be translated into benefits for patients. The recent protest and action taken by scientists and the community has brought about this result, and I wish to thank everyone who wrote letters and participated in the action,” Professor Gillespie said.