WA medical research delegation to hit Canberra in two-day blitz for ‘fair share’ of national research funding

Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson and a powerhouse delegation of medical researchers will jet over to Canberra next week in a bid to drive home why Western Australia deserves its fair share of national research funding. The group will meet with major players in the national medical research scene over the two-day blitz, and lobby their federal WA counterparts to join the crusade for WA’s “fair share”. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and National Health and Medical Research Council boss Steve Wesselingh are the delegation’s two main targets firmly in sight, Mr Dawson said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that WA is home to an immense amount of research talent, and the State Government is investing in these bright minds, but also in infrastructure that supports them,” he told The Sunday Times. “What we’d like to see from the national bodies is to recognise that to ensure that we are getting our fair share. “This is the beginning of the conversation with them. We want to create equity for all states and territories when it comes to national funding.” The Canberra mission follows an open letter to the Federal Health Minister in December over WA’s dismal results in last year’s NHMRC Ideas Grant round. Just 3.8 per cent of West Australian applications were funded, a continuation of its downward trend since 2020. Signed by Mr Dawson and the heads of 10 of WA’s top research institutes, the letter claimed “conscious and/or unconscious bias may be influencing national competitive grant outcomes to the disadvantage of Western Australia”. It prompted Mr Butler to promise a review of all applications to get to the bottom of any bias, whether conscious or unconscious. As lead signatory of the letter, Mr Dawson remains more prepared than ever to go into bat for the State’s medical research community. Ahead of the coming week’s trip, he has been regularly meeting with the sector to whittle down a list of possible solutions that could have the most benefit not only for WA, but nationwide. Likely the most contentious request is the reintroduction of panel reviews for major grant schemes. An overhaul of the review process some years ago saw the NHMRC axe such panels in favour of individual peer-reviewers. Many researchers criticised the move, saying it eroded peer accountability. “We also want to see NHMRC council and committee meetings rotate around the country,” Mr Dawson said. At the moment, they meet exclusively on the East Coast. “There’s a real misunderstanding of what we have in Western Australia, the institutions, the infrastructure that we have,” he said. Hosting meetings west-side would allow WA’s top research institutes to show off their capabilities. The final two requests from the WA delegation go hand in hand, and they’re mutually beneficial for every state and territory. They want to see jurisdiction-specific calls for research, and remind the NHMRC of its legislative duty to foster research opportunities in all states and territories. “There is a law . . . and it does talk about working with states, and it talks about equity, and it talks about making sure that we’re working with the states to create research opportunities in all the states. That’s not happening at the moment,” Mr Dawson said. “We want them to play fair and to treat us with respect, and to act on these requests that we’ve got.” The minister remainsacutely aware of how highly competitive the medical research sector is, but he’s confident WA holds its own and will only grow with the right support behind it. “We’ll travel as a united party next week, looking for a fair share for WA,” he said.