AUSTRALIA, August 10 - On 9 August 2023, the Senate referred an inquiry into Australian Antarctic Division funding for inquiry and report by 30 November 2023, with the following terms of reference:

The current management of the funding of the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), with particular reference to:

(a) revelations that the AAD is pursuing cuts worth roughly 16% of its operating budget;
(b) the direct and indirect impacts of cuts to public funding of Australia’s Antarctic activities, including on full-time, part-time and contract AAD jobs;
(c) the ramifications for Australia’s international commitments and obligations;
(d) the internal compilation of a list of at least 56 existing projects, programs and research activities that could be cut and/or terminated;
(e) the extent of the Albanese Government’s involvement in, and response to, these cost-cutting plans;
(f) the consequences of funding cuts to Australia’s Antarctic program for our country’s geopolitical and strategic international interests;
(g) complications that the proposed $25 million worth of cuts will cause for the full delivery of the Australian Antarctic Science Strategic Plan, the Australian Antarctic Strategy, the 20-year Action Plan, and the extra $804.4 million Antarctic funding package delivered by the Morrison Government in early 2022;
(h) the widespread view, including among numerous Antarctic science experts, that funding cuts of this scale and nature are catastrophic for Australia; and
(i) any other related matters. 

The closing date for submissions is 4 September 2023.