The shadow minister for innovation Kim Carr has been spotted at protests over the planned shedding of 275 jobs at CSIRO.

Supporters of Australian science took to the streets this week, slamming the Federal Government for not doing more to prevent the job cuts.

Staff have reportedly started receiving emails informing them of their looming redundancy and opening a two month window for them to find another job within the CSIRO.

CSIRO fellow Steve Rintoul, an oceanographer and climate scientist in the Oceans and Atmosphere division, says the cuts are coming at a time of profound change.

“What CSIRO and the other agencies in Australia working on climate are really trying to do is provide the knowledge the nation needs to respond effectively to the challenge of climate change,” he told reporters.

“It will affect vast sectors of the Australian economy and community from agriculture, food security, aquaculture, national security, energy, water, health.”

Senator Carr said the cuts would stop if Labor won the next election.

“I would, as minister, if I was given that privilege, direct the [CSIRO] board to cease and desist so we could review this whole situation,” he said.

“We need to ensure that Australia does a lot more to tackle climate change. We have international obligations in that regard.”

But independent member for Denison Andrew Wilkie said Senator Carr was being hypocritical.

“Federal Labor are hypocrites. The promise that they are better rings hollow,” he told the ABC.

“Under this Federal Government as many as 60 jobs will go at the CSIRO in Hobart but under the previous Labor federal government 198 jobs went at the CSIRO in Hobart.

“Neither major party is without sins when it comes to job cutbacks at CSIRO.”

Mr Wilkie said he would do whatever he could to restore the axed positions if he is returned to Parliament.

Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson agreed with Mr Wilkie.

“What we're facing at CSIRO now is a crisis because of a large number of cuts that have been going on under both Labor and Liberal [governments] for over a decade now,” he said.

“We're literally down to our bare bones in terms of our scientific capabilities.”

Insiders say morale at CSIRO is at an all-time low, with some staff in the HR department resigning in disgust at the job cuts.