Geoscience meets a changing parliament
This year, AuScope attended Science Meets Parliament 2022 (SmP), an annual event designed by Science & Technology Australia (STA) to ‘forge deeper connections between federal Parliamentarians and those working in science and technology’. This event ran in two parts: a weeklong conference and training component for scientists in late February-early March, and a state-based gala dinner after the Albanese Government came to power. Here’s what our representatives had to say.
Associate Professor Rhodri Davies — Geodynamicist from Australian National University
I was scheduled to meet my designated MP via Zoom. I have to admit to having butterflies in my stomach as the moment approached: I’d not previously had an opportunity to interact with a federal minister, particularly for 30 minutes.
“I had been assigned an MP whose views didn’t clearly align with my own. However, rather than being intimidated and concerned by this, SmP 2022 taught me to see this as an opportunity: if I could put geosciences on the map with this MP, it would likely have a substantial impact.”
The MP entered the (Zoom) room and any concerns I had were immediately set aside — they were eager to listen and learn, and were open to discussion on a diverse range of topics. They took the opportunity to explain some of the decisions that had been made whilst in government and, whilst I didn’t necessarily agree with them, the opportunity to respectfully debate and discuss the impact of these decisions was extremely valuable.
The time flew by and I learnt a great deal in an environment that is very far from what I’m used to. Moving forward, I hope to continue dialogue with the MP — I’m optimistic that given time, they will become a champion of the geosciences!
Dr Jessica Stromberg — geoscientist from CSIRO
“My experience at SmP 2022 has left me with a renewed perspective on the role of scientists in the public sphere in changing our cultural relationship with science and informing policy, and the tools to start doing so.”
However, even armed with those tools, I was nervous but cautiously optimistic going into my Zoom meeting with an MP, since I was there to discuss the role of geoscience in a renewable-led future and knew we had a shared concern in the impact and mitigation of climate change. But I was also cognizant of the complexity of that discussion in an electorate where a critical part of the economy is vulnerable to that transition.
“Our discussion was productive and perspective-changing for me in considering the complexities of the issue and the nuanced way in which policy can and needs to be developed and informed for it to be implemented.”
For me, this really crystallised some key learnings from SmP 2022 sessions the week before around how to reach out to MPs as a scientist to contribute to science-informed policy.
“Politics is a complex system, but a human-driven system so it’s important to connect on a human level, know your audience and especially their priorities, have 2-3 key points that are evidence-based but don’t overwhelm with facts and figures, you can always follow up with those later.”
I was grateful I took notes and came back to these learnings before the gala dinner, where I had the opportunity to connect with local politicians. And while I hope some of those connections will be maintained in the future, reflecting on SmP as a whole,
“I see the most critical role for scientists in the call to action that came out of my MP meeting, we as scientists need to help make science and the benefits of science a regular part of public discourse.”
Dr Ben Mather — computational geophysicist from EarthByte research group at The University of Sydney
I entered the Zoom room about 15 minutes before the start of my meeting with my designated MP. It was great to meet the other two scientists beforehand and get an idea of what everyone was going to say to our MP. I think we were all a bit nervous when they entered, but those reservations were immediately cast aside when it became clear that they were eager to learn and engage with all of us equally.
“Maybe I‘m jaded by news footage of question time in parliament, but I was astonished that our conversation was entirely apolitical. The MP was interested in [learning about] science and not at all in pushing an agenda. I came away from it feeling that the MP saw the value of keeping science and politics separate.”
Our discussion focussed on critical minerals exploration to power the renewables-led economy. What struck me was just how much humility the MP showed. He prefaced every statement with “you would know more than me…” which was surprising because, while I know a lot about my very specific research area, the MP has had to consider the social, economic, and political aspects of their portfolio. It was clear that they knew a great deal and were [fully] across their portfolio. Despite that, they were eager to engage with scientists and learn more.
Dining out in the knowledge of a new government
SmP 2022 concluded with state-based gala dinners that our representatives attended in Perth, Canberra and Melbourne. From all accounts, the energy in each room was bolstered by the prospect of the new Albanese Government’s election promise to enhance investment into Australian science to match that of other developed countries in the OECD, that being 3 % of GDP. Geoscientists, meet your new MPs:
Geoscientists, meet your new MPs
An overview of the MPs that hold a voice for geoscience
PRODUCER/EDITOR
Jo Condon (AuScope)
AUTHORS
A/Prof Rhodri Davies (The ANU)
Dr Jessica Stromberg (CSIRO)
Dr Ben Mather (University of Sydney)
LEARN MORE ABOUT STA
STA is Australia’s peak body in science and technology representing more than 80,000 scientists and technologists. Aside from Science Meets Parliament, STA offer professional development opportunities for geoscientists through AuScope’s membership.