The CSIRO is (was) a prestigious institution that had an excellent reputation for producing solid work. It was gutted for political reasons, by a Prime Minister who campaigned on the &#x27;horror&#x27; of the opponent party kicking out their chosen PM in his first term... and then being such a bad specimen himself, was kicked out in his first term.<p>With the exclusion of the government propaganda around the time of the gutting of the CSIRO, I&#x27;ve never heard anyone (domestic or foreign) speak of the CSIRO with anything but respect. Accusations of fat-cat scientists feathering their nests doesn&#x27;t fit.