After fierce criticism from researchers and Aboriginal groups, Australian officials have shelved a plan to cut research programs at the South Australian Museum, one of the nation’s major natural history museums. After a 5-month review by the South Australia state government, the “proposed restructure … is off and it’s withdrawn,” Peter Malinauskas, the state’s premier, told reporters today.
The February proposal to “reimagine” the museum aimed to solve its funding woes in part by reducing staff, eliminating research scientists, and amputating studies of its vast collections of flora, fauna, and archaeological and cultural artifacts. The plan was spearheaded by museum board chair Kim Cheater and the museum’s CEO, David Gaimster. In April, after vigorous protests from numerous groups, the state government put the plan on hold and appointed an expert panel to review it.
The government today accepted that panel’s six recommendations, which include developing a new strategic plan, according to a statement. In the meantime, “no functional or structural changes will be proposed to the Museum’s research and collection priorities and business models,” the government said. The panel also called for officials to work “closely with South Australia’s universities to agree [on] sustainable research and funding models for the Museum.” The government will provide the museum with AU$4.1 million over the next 2 years while it develops the new plan.
That effort will be led by the museum’s newly appointed board chair, Robert Saint, a geneticist and former deputy vice chancellor of Flinders University. Saint replaces Cheater, who has resigned. Gaimster remains the museum’s CEO.
Many researchers are breathing a sigh of relief. Herpetologist Mark Hutchinson, an honorary researcher at the museum, says he “was gloomy, but now there are reasons to be optimistic.”
