Although the CSIRO should get all the funding it requires, above some other things we seemingly throw money at. Some of these positions mentioned in the article looking at being reduced aren't science positions...just HR/management related, in that case I have no issues. Lets fund Science not Managers.
I work in a large university with a policy of lumping as many administrative duties on the academics as possible.
Why do we want professors coding credit cards to university accounts, managing employment contracts and job listing's, offices for staff, travel bookings ect ect? Is this how we want our tax payer grant money spent?
100% this. My large university went through a "business improvement program" as a cost cutting exercise, which basically meant cutting heaps of professional (v academic) staff. Now you have academics not trained in a variety of systems wasting a tonne of time trying to use them/do administrative work that a fully trained professional would have been able to do in a fraction of the time, making much greater use of everybody's skills and financial resources.