Australia has an historic opportunity to expand its scientific research and reap significant benefits.

Sadly, while the Albanese Government is celebrating the acquisition of a controversial former Greens Senator and even compromising its timid superannuation change, much of the rest of the world is gearing up to attract US scientists being deprived of funding by the Trump Government.

Admittedly, the Australian Academy of Science has started a Global Talent Attraction program to recruit US researchers in areas of national need. Sadly – while there has been strong interest from US-based researchers – no funding for such a program is yet available. The University of Sydney deputy vice chancellor, Julie Cairney, also says it is receiving an increasing number of unsolicited applications from US scientists.

Australian students – Luke Heeney of MIT and Sarah Davis Harvard (The Age 4/6) – have authored an op ed saying that the US moves have created “a generational opportunity to steal a jar of the US’ secret sauce and supercharge Australian innovation.”

“While competing destinations have launched ambitious programs like the Choose Europe for Science Initiative backed by 500 million Euros (A$881 million) Australia has dragged its feet.”

Other countries have already launched programs. The Choose France for Science program targets international scientists who want to continue their work at French institutions.  Germany’s Max Planck Society – a network of world le-leading research institutes has started a Transatlantic Program to establish collaborative research centres with leading US institutions and China has launched a campaign on X to attract US researchers.

Research agencies in Spain, The Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and, Austria have also launched programs.

The size of Trump cutbacks is massive. According to The Economist (24/5) Trump has cancelled or withdrawn from scientists and their institutions around $8 billion in funding. That’s equivalent to about 16% of the yearly budget for higher education. The NIH has cancelled more than 3,000 grants. A further $12.2 billion has been cancelled or withdrawn but have been reinstated by courts. All told the proposed cuts to research agencies comes to nearly $40 billion.

The “big beautiful bill” Trump is trumpeting cuts the science budget for NASA by half and spending at the National Health Institutes by 40%, The Department of Health and Human Services will be sacking 10,000 employees. Th Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the FDA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institute of Standards Technology have also sacked many staff although the exact numbers have not been released.

On top of all this are the attacks on universities through funding cuts, research grant cancellations, arrests of foreign students and orders to eliminate DEI initiatives.

Nature, in an April 2025 survey of its worldwide readers on the US science policies, illustrates the opportunity countries other than the US offer to young scientists.

94% of the respondents worldwide said they were worried by the Trump actions. An equal number thought the science policies would have negative effects around the world. 96% said it would have a negative impact on the US and 78% thought it would have negative impacts on their own country. 22% said it would have a positive effect.

The survey also found that 68% of respondents were less likely to recommend students pursue a career in science in the US today than before Trump took office. Given the current situation the less likely figure is 83% of students were less likely to pursue a career in the US since Trump was elected.  The figure for respondents who were not US citizens or permanent residents was 91%.

So, given this opportunity what is the Albanese Government doing? It appears to be very little. And of course there are other problems as well as the Albanese Government. Since the corporatisation of Australian universities they are largely top heavy institutions with students more likely to be taught by casual staff than tenured ones. When the students do graduate they will face years of debt repayment.

A bold Australian Government (what are they?) would follow the path of Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Denmark and Austria.

But then we don’t have a bold government do we? Instead, we are a timid middling country lead by timid middling politicians lacking in vision