Nine months into government, Mr Husic is also yet to nominate a director for the quantum computing company that the Commonwealth has a $25 million equity stake in.
Industry and Science minister Ed Husic has left dozens of government-appointed science and technology leadership positions vacant, including half the government’s innovation advisory board and three spots on the CSIRO board.
Many of the positions were emptied by the Coalition government while it cycled several ministers through the Industry and Science portfolios.
Documents tabled to the Senate this week show Mr Husic has not leapt at the chance to fill the roles. He reported increased vacancies for government appointed board roles at the CSIRO and Industry, Innovation and Science Australia (IISA), while the government’s board spot at Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) is still empty.
However the Minister insists processes are “well advanced” to fill the key innovation positions
The IISA was established in 2016 as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda to advise the government on innovation, science, and research matters.
In recent times the attention has been advising on the previous government’s $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing strategy and on the Albanese government’s $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund.
The IISA board can have a maximum of 15 members, including the Chair, Deputy Chair and an ex-officio member, and requires only four for a quorum.
It currently has seven board members, including long-time chair Andrew Stevens and Australia’s chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley, leaving eight spots for Mr Husic to fill.
There are another seven vacancies on the IISA subcommittee and two empty spots on the government’s National Science and Technology Council.
There are two each at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and Space Agency advisory board, while the Questacon science centre’s advisory council is missing a Chair, Deputy and three more members.
For the Past two years organisations such as Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank have maintained representatives on the SQC board, and yet the government’s spot has been vacant since 2021.
