National Science and Research Priorities

The Chief Scientist’s consultation showed that Australians want our national spend on research to deliver a cohesive, healthy and resilient society, that is transformation-ready and in tune with our environment.

While we would have liked the vision for social and cultural research to be explicit, as it is for science in the National Science Statement, we are firmly of the view that there is a place for Indigenous knowledges and a place for humanities research in meeting the challenges set out in the NSRPs:

• transitioning to a net zero future
• supporting healthy and thriving communities
• elevating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems
• protecting and restoring Australia’s environment
• building a secure and resilient nation

The AAH applauds the inclusion of “elevating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems” in the NSRPs but we implore the government to not only draw on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and knowledge systems, in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but to create the conditions for Indigenous leadership at every level of this national priority.

Science and technology alone cannot deliver effective research impact. Bringing the human and social element invites a more mature national conversation. The challenges we face require complex, reasoned changes to attitudes and behaviour. Changes in technology, generative AI, climate change, and geopolitics will continue to put pressure on the way we arrive at shared interests, and thus on the viability of representative democracy.

The successful implementation of these NSRPs will demand the best of social, cultural and political research, alongside science discovery and application.

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