-
Federal Budget –
delivers $15m
-
New CRC bid faces tough
competition
-
Senate Bushfire
Inquiry
-
Royal Commission calls
on Bushfire CRC
-
Canberra science
festival
Budget delivers funds for
bushfire research
This week, the
Federal Budget provided some welcome news with the allocation of
$15 million to the Bushfire CRC. The funding is for three years
from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2013 and is an outcome of Senate
discussions over the economic stimulus package earlier this
year.
This is a positive
step towards securing ongoing funding for a national bushfire
research centre and an endorsement of our current activities.
However, we are still focused on gaining longer term funding so our
bid for $50 million over eight years from the Australian
Government’s CRC Program remains
alive.
New CRC progresses to next round
Two weeks ago we
received word that our bid for a new CRC for Fire –
Environment and Society had been invited to proceed to the second
round of the CRC funding assessment process.
This is great news
for all who have supported the bid for an ongoing national fire
research centre over recent years. It appears we are in the middle
of a highly competitive bidding round, being only one of 14
applicants to get to the second stage, with many others missing out
entirely and now contemplating either winding up or seeking
alternative funding sources.
Our proposed research
program will now undergo a thorough scientific review by relevant
experts and this will be followed by a formal face-to-face
interview in late June/early July.
Royal
Commission
The 2009 Victorian Bushfires
Royal Commission has begun in earnest with many Bushfire CRC
stakeholders and researchers in demand for their evidence and
analysis.
A great deal Bushfire CRC
research is being called upon to assist the Royal Commission with
its deliberations and this will continue over the coming months. We
can take this as an endorsement of the Bushfire CRC as a research
centre that can produce reliable, relevant and accessible
scientific research. You can watch Royal Commission proceedings
live at: http://vbrc.net.au/live1/
Senate bushfire
inquiry
The Australian
Senate has just announced an inquiry into bushfires. (See Senate Hansard, 12 May
2009.)
The inquiry will be undertaken by the Senate
select committee on agricultural and related industries, which is
chaired by Liberal Senator Bill
Heffernan.
Among other things, it will look at the
incidence and severity of bushfires across Australia, including the
impact on humans, animals, agricultural land, the environment,
public and private assets and local
communities.
This inquiry will no doubt
increase the workload of many Bushfire CRC stakeholders and
researchers. But on a positive note, it means that bushfires will
remain in the political spotlight while the bid process for the new
CRC continues.
We await more details on the
terms of reference and timelines for the inquiry.
Canberra –
Science Innovation Festival
A further reminder to my last
email newsletter -the Bushfire CRC is participating in the
Australian Science Festival alongside the annual CRC Innovations
Conference in Canberra in late May. These two events under the one
roof are an excellent opportunity for us to showcase Bushfire CRC
research to a wide scientific, political and general audience. We
are using this to promote bushfire science to schools, the general
public, and to invited parliamentarians, and department and embassy
staff. If you are in Canberra in the week from 26 May please drop
in to the Bushfire CRC expo stand at the National Convention
Centre.
More information at the
Festival
website
