£80M? Well, that could buy a whole lot of useful space and energy sciences that could benefit humanity's understanding of its world and perhaps even bring forward development of safe and sustainable energy generation.

Or around 64 Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles.

Guess?

Australia made huge cuts to its investments in tertiary science and engineering back in the middle of the last century ... and focussed almost exclusively on primary production and mining.

This effectively meant most of our intellectually gifted went elsewhere ... overseas ... where they developed, invented and patented arrays of new technologies ... none of which made a red cent for Australia.

My advice to the British is ... you have nothing left in the motherland but old money and brains.

Once the old money runs out you will have nothing otherwise ..,

For your best will have gone elsewhere too.

Britain has some of the most gifted and modest scientists and engineers in the world.

Don't sell them out ... off ... or under.

Invest in young minds ... a lesson the Australians learned the hard way.






Personally, I assume this is yet another move towards the ridiculous scenario of everyone getting a degree, but the degrees being worth less than the paper they're written on. 

"Media Studies 2.0" will get the funding to make everyone feel smart, while the harder subjects that are actually important in the longer terms get short-changed, and the equally important manual jobs (e.g. the people who keep the sewers working, the electricity flowing, commuters moving etc) are done by understaffed immigrants as the jobs are seen as too lowly for our "educated" dole lay-abouts.

If they diverted Wayne Rooney's pay for a year into research we'd probably all be driving fusion-powered hovercars in 18 months. 

Why do moronic thugs who only marketable skill is kicking a bag of air around make more money than the guys and gals who might unearth a cure for cancer or the reason we all even exist at all?