Magazine article
The government has blocked funding to 13 research projects for security reasons. What happens now?
The Conversation
19/05/2026
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Abstract
Late last week, the Australian Research Council quietly made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the academic community. The federal education minister, Jason Clare, blocked research funding to 13 projects “for reasons relevant to the security, defence or international relations of Australia”. This is more than double the number that have been vetoed on security grounds for any year since the research council was established in 2001. Clare didn’t issue a press release about the matter and refused to go into more detail at a press conference a few days later. This comes as Strider (an AI intelligence company) released a report showing more than 6,000 publications and collaborations between Australian researchers and institutions associated with China’s People’s Liberation Army since 2020. Much of that research focused on high-risk technologies, like drones, artificial intelligence and radar and communications systems. What is going on?
Details
- Title
- The government has blocked funding to 13 research projects for security reasons. What happens now?
- Creators
- Brendan Walker-Munro - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- The Conversation
- Publisher
- The Conversation Media Group Ltd
- Identifiers
- 991013377951602368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Magazine article