Inflation at Home, Grants Abroad: Why Were We Funding Aussie Universities?
It sounds like a joke — until you read the fine print. For years, U.S. federal agencies quietly sent millions of American taxpayer dollars to seven Australian universities, funding everything from medical research to joint defense projects.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced calls to respond after the Trump administration cut funding to seven Australian universities.”
Let’s take a step back: the United States — deep in debt, facing inflation, and with families struggling to afford groceries, rent, and gas — was sending cash to Australia, a wealthy country with universal healthcare, subsidized universities, and a much smaller military footprint.
The cut of funding could leave a $600 million hole in the efforts of Australian researchers, with the US the largest research partner of Australia.[…]The funding cut is another step in President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, with ‘DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal’ listed as reasons why the US had announced a ‘temporary pause’ in grants.
You’d think a commonsense policy decision — prioritizing Americans in a time of economic strain — would be broadly understood. Instead, it sparked a diplomatic uproar.
“It is incumbent on the prime minister to call an emergency meeting of the National Science and Technology Council, which he chairs, compelling all ministers to the table to share intel and comprehensively assess the extent of Australia’s exposure to a reduction in US R&D investment across portfolios,” Ms Arabia said.
An emergency meeting. Over a funding stream that was never guaranteed. It’s like someone panicking when their free Uber Eats promo code finally expires.
The surveys they received asked several questions including whether the researchers had received funding from China, and if their university had recognised only two sexes — male and female.”
So this wasn’t just a budget issue — it was a strategic and ideological one. The surveys, sent by US agencies, revealed that some of these universities had ties to Chinese research institutions, and others were raising eyebrows over their cultural agendas. Yet the U.S. was bankrolling them anyway, even as domestic inflation reached 40-year highs and everyday Americans were living paycheck-to-paycheck.
And still, the money flowed — quietly, year after year — until someone finally asked: Why?
To recap: in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, U.S. taxpayer dollars were funding research at foreign universities — including institutions entangled in questionable partnerships — while Americans are struggling with rising prices and putting groceries back at the checkout line.
This isn’t about isolationism. It’s about priorities. It’s about accountability. And it’s about the simple, obvious question: Why are we funding universities in Australia while Americans are struggling to stay afloat?
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