Hands Off Our ABC

64 of Australia’s most eminent scientists call for science journalism to be saved on ABC TV

The following eminent Australian scientists have added their names to an open letter calling for ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie to reverse a proposal to axe specialist science journalism on ABC TV:

Anne Disney, President, Australian Science Teachers Association

Prof Simon Chapman AO, Emeritus Professor, School of Public Health, Uni of Sydney

Prof Rick Shine AM, Winner, 2016 Prime Minister's Prize for Science/Professor in Evolutionary Biology, University of Sydney

Prof Mike Archer AM, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW

Prof Richard Kingsford, Director, Centre for Ecosystem Science UNSW

John Cunningham OAM, Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon

Prof Will Steffen, Emeritus Professor, Climate Change Institute, ANU

Professor Zsolt Balogh, Director of Trauma, John Hunter Hospital

Assoc Prof Ian Goodwin, Marine Climate Risk Group, Macquarie University

Prof Garry Egger, Health Sciences, Southern Cross University

Prof Paul Willis, former presenter on Catalyst

Professor Paul Davies, Astrophysicist, UNSW, Arizona State University

Prof John Webb, Astrophysicist, Director of Big Questions Institute, UNSW

Dr Scott Heron, Oceanographer, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Assoc Prof David Suggett, ARC Future Fellow, UTS

Prof Vanessa Hayes, Human Comparative and Prostate Cancer Genomics, Garvan Institute of Medical Research

Dr Liz de Rome, Neuroscience Research Australia

Dr Jacqueline Halpin, Tectonic geologist, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Sudies/UTAS

Emeritus Prof Mary Barton, Microbiologist, UniSA

Dr Kate Clezy, Director, Infectious Diseases, Prince of Wales Hospital

Prof David Bowman, Plant Science, UTAS

Prof Tim Flannery, Mammalogist, paleontologist

Prof Justin Marshall, Director, Qld Brain Institute

Prof Anthony Hannan, Head of Neural Plasticity, The Florey Institute

Dr Simon Apte, Senior principal research scientist, CSIRO

Assoc Prof Catriona MacLeod, Deputy Head Fisheries & Aquaculture Centre, University of Tasmania

Professor Peter Newman AO, Curtin University -Director of the Curtin Uni Sustainability Policy Institute

Dr Michael Bowen, Eureka Prize Outstanding early career researcher, Sydney Uni

Prof Peter Irwin, Principal, College of Vet Medicine, Murdoch University

Dr Louise Shewan, Archaeology, Monash University

Dr Dougald O'Reilly, Archaeology, ANU

Assoc Prof David Barnes, Platform Director, CAVE 2, Monash Uni

Assoc Prof Nigel Taylor, School of Medicine, University of Wollongong

Dr Stephen Graves, Director Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory

Assoc Prof Tim Karl, Western Sydney Uni

Dr Kristen Anderson, Australian Institute of Marine Science

Dr Tracy Ainsworth, Coral biologist, James Cook University

Assoc Prof Bill Leggat, Biochemist, James Cook University

Dr David Mills, Senior Research Scientist, WorldFish

Prof Paul McGreevy, Faculty Vet Science, Sydney Uni

Dr Paul Marshall, Adjunct Associate Professor, The Centre for Biodiversity & Conservation Science, University of Queensland

Dr Charlotte Oskam, Vector and Water-Borne Pathogen Research Group, Murdoch University

Dr Naomi Gardiner, Manager of Postgraduate Studies, School of Science and Engineering, JCU

Assoc Prof Jane Williamson, Marine ecology, Macquarie University

Dr Andrew Hoey, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, JCU

Assoc Prof Mike Liddell, School of Chemistry, JCU Cairns

Dr Susannah Leahy, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Science and Engineerting, JCU

Prof David Booth, Professor of Marine Ecology, UTS

Prof William Laurance, Director, Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science

Dr Rosalie Hocking, Senior Lecturer, Physical and Analytical Chemistry, JCU

Dr Eric Roberts, Head of Geosciences, James Cook University

Emeritus Prof David Yellowlees, ACE CoE for Coral Reef Studies

Russell Kelley, Writer, project manager, television producer, science communication consultant

Cecilie Benjamin, Mahonia Na Dari Research, Education and Conservation Centre, Papua New Guinea

Giglia Beretta, School of Life Sciences, UTS

Dr Karen Joyce, Senior Lecturer, Remote Sensing and Spatial Sciences, JCU

Katie Peterson, PhD student, JCU

Dr Zoe Richards, Dept of Aquatic Zoology, WA Museum

Assoc Prof Culum Brown, Dept of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University

Dr Katherina Petrou, Life Sciences, UTS

Prof Lin Schwarzkopf, College of Science and Engineering, JCU

Dr Benn Hoffmann, CSIRO Land and Water, NT

Dr Anna Scott, National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University

Dr Jenny Stauber, CSIRO Land and Water, Lucas Heights NSW