Ministers will no longer approve Australian Research Council grants under bid to stop ‘political interference’

Labor move follows review that found trust had been ‘dramatically eroded’ by controversial grant decisions made by former Coalition ministers

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Ministers would no longer be responsible for approving competitive grants as part of legislation aimed at ending years of political interference in the Australian Research Council (ARC).

The bill, to improve the governance and independent decision-making of the ARC, was introduced on Wednesday after a review into the body which found trust had been “dramatically eroded” by controversial grant decisions made by former Coalition ministers.

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