staff reductions at AGSO

["John Laurie" <jlaurie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

     Paleonetters,
     
     The Australian Geological Survey Organisation has become a victim of 
     Federal Government cuts in expenditure with the organisation's budget 
     to be cut approximately 25% over the next two years. This translates 
     to a staff reduction of about 130 out of the total of 550. In the 
     Timescales project, where all the palaeontologists are located, we 
     have to lose 3 staff out of 9. We have been told that from now, the 
     Lower Palaeozoic (i.e. everything below Carboniferous) is of no 
     interest to the organisation.
     
     John Laurie
     
     AGSO