350 scientists sign open letter against SA Museum restructure
Hundreds of prominent Australians say 165 years of continuous scientific work will be put at risk by SA Museum restructure plans that go too far.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Prominent Australians have signed an open letter warning the SA Museum restructure will put at risk 165 years of continuous scientific, anthropologic and archaeological work by researchers.
In an extraordinary move to stop the reform, 350 scientists, donors and prominent people, including former Australian of the Year Tim Flannery, former museum board chair and Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith and Michael Abbott KC, have penned a letter on the changes which will result in 27 jobs losses.
The letter to Premier Peter Malinauskas, to be published in The Advertiser next week, is the first step in their campaign, which includes a protest rally on parliament steps on Saturday, April 13.
The proposed restructure would result in 27 job losses in the research and collections team, including in the vertebrate zoology section with collection manager positions being cut from four to one.
“There is no way one person can properly look after or service the people who want to study those specimens. It’s impossible,” spokeswoman Dr Catherine Kemper said.
“One of the great things about research and collection staff is they have intimate knowledge about specimens and the data that goes with them.”
Under the proposal, the entire zoology collections – vertebrates and invertebrates – would only have three collection managers to look after up to five million specimens.
“We have lost about one quarter of the mammals that were here 250 years ago, so those specimens are incredibly important,” Dr Kemper said.
“You have to have people with the knowledge and experience to manage those collections properly, otherwise you’ll have deterioration.”
Dr Kemper, who worked at the museum for nearly four decades, said the state government had not adequately funded the museum, which had a budget of nearly $11m in 2022-23 – almost all of which was from a government grant.
Museum staff were consulted on the proposed changes last month and which included the creation of 22 new positions and a new curatorial model for research, where curators would make research part of their remit.
“Any agency should be thinking of how to do things better, but this is too radical and the consultation, as far as I understand, was pretty poor,” Dr Kemper said.
Dr Kemper said there was also uncertainty around the museum’s molecular unit and its staff, which looked after a world-class frozen tissue collection, and helped discover more than 500 new species, including 46 now listed as threatened.
Museum director Dr David Gaimster has consistently said collections and research still remained a significant priority and wrote to valued supporters of the institution last month to quell public misinformation.
He wrote the new structure would to bring the museum into the 21st century and enable them to build an organisation that connects world-leading research with the communities it serves.
“The future focus will be on converting new discoveries and research into the visitor experience, both onsite and online, and refreshing that experience through new research,” he wrote.
“The museum will continue to undertake and support taxonomic research as original research on the collections will be part of the remit for the new curatorial positions proposed by the new structure.”
Dr Gaimster told The Advertiser the restructure was the result of a museum-board review of research and collections and it intended to strengthen the capability of the museum and create a sustainable model for the future.
He clarified the shift from research toward a curatorial research model would mean future resourcing of the molecular lab would cease, however this was still part of the consultation process with staff and the Public Service Association.
“The proposed restructure is very much an internal management process at present,” he said.
“Despite this there has unfortunately been wider circulation of a lot of misinformation about these proposed changes within the museum and the impact that they may on how the museum operates into the future.”
The PSA said of the 73 museum staff, 27 positions would be abolished with the new roles nearly all lower level. It has lodged a dispute in the Employment Tribunal about breaches and non compliance with requirements of the Enterprise Agreement.
Arts Minister Andrea Michaels said the government continued to ensure the museum was well resourced to fulfil its functions under the Museum Act.
“The board is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the museum, and is legally responsible for the obligations of the museum under law,” Ms Michaels said.
“The SA Museum is incredibly important to the people of South Australia and the proposed reforms are about ensuring our museum continues to be an exciting destination for locals and visitors for the future.”
‘Unrelenting harassment’: People wait up to 10 years to seek help
Cheryl Williams was subjected to unrelenting bullying at the hands of peers. It left her feeling as though she didn’t want to be alive — but it took her years to seek help.
‘Never got to say goodbye’: Son’s grief for mum killed in horror crash
The family of a woman who was mowed down on the Northern Expressway have spoken of their heartbreak, condemning the driver for leaving her to die alone.