The 'Ten Top Issues' should also be a wish list for every Australian. Unless we change our complacent attitude to science as an investment, Australia will continue its gentle slide into mediocrity.
Conditions are better, research funds are more available, job security is better.
Australian scientists working overseas say they'd love to be able to return, but they can't afford the career insecurity, difficulty gaining research funds and the crumbling infrastructure. We want Australians to go overseas to broaden their experience and gain new contacts. But we need a way to encourage them to bring their new skills back to Australia, so they return at least for extended periods of research. Professor Serjeantson says there is no evidence to support claims the brain drain is being matched by a flow of talent into Australia. The statistics available to the public are very unreliable, and may well cover up the true picture.