Mixed review for Australia's new science budget

Science: Two of Australia's science agencies are shedding jobs and trimming programs to comply with a new national budget that's both praised and criticized by research leaders. The spending plan announced by the Labor government last week--its first since coming to power in 2007--provides more money for education initiatives, including a $10.5 billion trust fund for higher education infrastructure, but less for two key players, the nation's premier science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The cuts are troubling, some say, because the government expects to reap a $20.7 billion surplus over Australia's next annual budget cycle, which starts 1 July.