The Coalition wants to turn scientists into lapdogs – and muzzle climate research in the process | Paul Willis

Political interference in scientific research has been weaponised during the past decade, and we are all suffering the consequences

Policies matter. Good policies lead to good outcomes, while bad policies can lead to disaster. But what about where there is no policy, or a policy that is incohesive and incomplete? We only need to look at the state of science research policy in Australia to find out.

Scientific research in Australia has always suffered from political influence, because research in Australia is heavily dependent on federal government funding. But political interference in scientific research has been weaponised during the past decade of Coalition governments.