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Dhillon and other department leaders, the senators wrote, are further diminishing the unit’s experienced workforce through buyouts and other measures.

It said the "proactive measures" it had taken to fend off the attack had had a "small impact" on its call centre and back office.

In response, Harvard has sued the federal government to block the measures, including the freezing of more than $2bn in academic grants.

Indigenous Australians, who represent about 3.8% of the nation's 26 million population, are by most socio-economic measures the most disadvantaged people in the country - something successive leaders have for years called a "national shame".

It also argues for a greater focus on climate change mitigation measures such as flood defences and a new international push to persuade China and India to cut emissions.