All that is WRONG with the current Federal Government approach to the STEM industries is nearly encapsulated in the above tweet. I’m sorry @karenandrewsmp but this situation is wrong. My virology skills & knowledge should be highly valued in these times. Not my schmoozing skills
I have also applied for two jobs advertised in Victoria (one based in Geelong) by a Quango outsourcing the @IndustryGovAu Accelerating Commercialisation program, to help fledgling MedTech Pharma businesses. Pay for State Director Role? 150k -200k and for the GM in GTown? 120-135k
My question is for you @karenandrewsmp .... why do we need *two* highly paid innovation consultants in the cottage industry that is the MTP sector in Geelong? I thing perhaps I’m going to copy @RichardMarlesMP and @LibbyCokerMP into this thread. We only need one, working 0.6 FTE
Surely we should be redirecting some of that Quango consultant cash into adding ‘all hands to the pump’ at the research benches of AAHL and GCEID? You could have 5 virologists with PhDs for the price of a couple of old (male pale stale) hacks who once ran a MedTech importing SME.
And most of those virologists will be women, given ‘social good’ medical research attracts more #WomenInSTEM than men. Please consider re-deploying this money. I worked in a Quango and I know the Minister in charge of @IndustryGovAu has the power to pull money back into the Govt
And I’m only talking about the doubling up of programs across federal government depts now. There is *already* federally funded ‘Innovation support’ from @healthgovau via yes, my old Quango MTPConnect, for MTP innovation & commercialisation support at a National Level
So @karenandrewsmp if you are looking for a strategic consultant you can pay by the hour to tell you which programs to keep and which ones to bin off in these recessionary times? Just DM me and I’m happy to point you in the direction of the duplicates in the Federal Funding
The amount of time and money wasted on me and sundry others to engage in the NiSA ‘Ideas boom’ of trying to create an innovation nation that is governed by anti-science people who think Prayer is the answer has been epic. I would have preferred the $135k pa as a research grant
This would have kept my not inconsequential ‘Super Bug’ research skills, as a Lab Head at GCEID, at the bench when I worked for @Deakin (and trust me, I applied for Medical Countermeasures Grants from @DMTCLtd right from the Get Go.... as I was on a @DefenceScience War Games 2013
I’m now going to copy @tanyamonro into this, as her predecessors are guilty of not focusing on building capacity in Medical Countermeasures when they were being urged to do so. It’s been woefully underfunded & I urge @lindareynoldswa to consider that there’s Human Capacity spare
And it’s time to pull all the funding deployed under the failed ‘Three Male Pale Stale’ vision of an innovation nation sold to @TurnbullMalcolm by Finkel Ferris and Fraser. Yes, I’m pointing the finger at you @ScienceChiefAu and your mates from down the ‘Club’ for creating this.
It’s time to start listening to Women under 50 yo now. The Old guard needs to step aside. I’m available.... because I got chased out for being a queer disabled feminist from both the academic and engagement spaces, for speaking out publicly on sexual harassment & discrimination
So, I’m now available as a ‘gun for hire’ to snipe down all the pale and stale spin doctor loving junket merchants attached like leeches due to the government predilection for Quangoes. These rent seeker are in Bullshit jobs. They are expensive and useless. I’ve worked for them.
And my last job? To tell PhD students if they wanted stable work? They were better off learning ‘Stakeholder Engagement’ skills than bothering to stay ‘at the Bench’ studying that virus / bacteria / <insert global pandemic here>
And now? I’m ‘Self Employed’ being laid off from my 0.1 FTE contract running a school science club to get girls interested in STEM. My income doubled I got #JobKeeper but I could be at the back at the bench trying to grow #SARSCoV2 (which is tricky to culture...but I have skills)
PS: I’ve been talking to Government Ministers using my own funds since 2013/2014 drmelthomson.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/the…
