On Tuesday Karen Andrews announced CRC Round 21 Guidelines – today Kim Carr said they could change

It was the third cooperative research centre announcement Ms Andrews has made since the election was called – but all signed off before caretaker kicked in. “The CRC brief was approved before caretaker. The opening of a grant program is business as usual,” she told the complaining Kim Carr yesterday.

This was not enough for the Labor research spokesman. “In ordinary circumstances this would be a routine matter, but in the middle of a federal election campaign when the caretaker conventions apply, this is not appropriate,” he said.

But there is policy as well as politics in the timing. The government is not keen on public-good cooperative research centres, which will not likely get-up under the existing guidelines. But Senator Carr is, so yesterday he announced that if Labor is elected the guidelines will change “to include commitments to public-good research.”