Controversial grant decisions by Coalition ministers eroded trust in Australian Research Council, review finds

First review in two decades found at least six projects blocked by education ministers and calls for limits on ministerial intervention

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Trust in the Australian Research Council has been “dramatically eroded” by controversial grant decisions made by former Coalition ministers, including Simon Birmingham, Dan Tehan and Stuart Robert, a review has found.

The review, released by the education minister Jason Clare on Thursday, called for more “checks and balances” on the power of ministerial intervention, limiting it to “the extraordinary circumstance of a potential threat to national security”.

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