Universities Australia wants the federal education minister to be stripped of the power to veto research grants. 

On ideological grounds, acting Education Minister Stuart Robert last year stepped in to stop $1.4 million worth of Australian Research Council (ARC) funding for six projects.

Some of Australia’s most eminent researchers have condemned the decision as “political and short-sighted”.

The projects put down by the veto came broadly from the arts and humanities field - two were about modern China, two about English literature, one about student climate protests and one about religion in science fiction and fantasy literature.

Mr Robert is not a researcher, nor does he have any expertise in the fields that he has sought to intervene on. However, he does hold an arts degree from the University of New South Wales. 

All of the grants were subject to rigorous and independent peer review and were recommended for funding by experts, but Mr Robert vetoed them because of his perception that they “do not demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money nor contribute to the national interest”. 

A bill has been put forth by Senator Mehreen Faruqi that would remove the Minister’s right of veto under The Australian Research Council Act.

The bill would make the minister answerable to the chief executive of the ARC.

Universities Australia - a lobby for Australia’s 39 comprehensive universities - has come out in support of the proposed bill in a submission to a Senate inquiry.

Universities Australia said ministerial intervention into ARC funding continues to “threaten the integrity of the research system and Australia’s capacity to continue to be a significant contributor to the global research effort.”

“Universities Australia recommends the Senate supports amending the Australian Research Council Act 2001 to remove ministerial decision-making on individual research applications,” the submission said.

If the veto power is to remain, the lobby suggested “a predictable, transparent and informed process be in place for those decisions”, saying governments should have a compelling reason that could be defended publicly, in order to put down research it does not like. 

Other organisations have also come out in support of the removal of the ministerial veto, including The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Mathematical Society and the Australian Historical Association.

The Australian Academy of Science made a submission saying using ministerial veto as a de facto national interest test is “inappropriate”, “lacks transparency and clarity” and cannot be appealed. 

It recommended the veto power be maintained, but reformed to be more transparent,  requiring the minister to issue an explanation to the Parliament when projects are rejected.