Niche Ideology vs. Taxpayer Value

I seemed to upset my colleagues when I questioned why the Australian Research Council is spending close to a billion dollars a year on grants that taxpayers would struggle to see any value in. ARC leadership repeatedly hid behind "peer review processes", refusing to justify cost-benefit while signing off on a $889,275 grant for an Arab/Muslim Australian social movements study, and another $322,213 grant that produced a commercial sold book Coming of Age in War on Terror. While I respect independent review processes, the real issue is being ignored. How is this supposedly “world-class system” allowing taxpayer money to be poured into niche ideological research with no demonstrated benefit to the people footing the bill? The problem isn’t that research exists – it’s why taxpayers are being forced to fund it. — February | Senate Estimates Transcript: https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/niche-ideology-vs-taxpayer-value/