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Transcript
TRANSCRIPT OF DOORSTOP
THE HON DR BRENDAN NELSON MP
CANBERRA
24th November 2003
Brendan Nelson:
Good morning. Well this begins an extremely important two weeks for Australia, as it does for the Government and the future of Australian higher education. We have $10.5 billion of additional public money that we are waiting to invest in Australian universities over the next ten years. At least $1.5 billion over the next four years, with more HECs places, scholarships for students and a significant variety of resources for Australian universities.
Today I understand that Senator John Cherry, the Democrats Senator, has indicated to one of the major industry and higher education groups that he is prepared to consider favourably the package, as long as there are some changes made to it. I have contacted Senator Cherry’s office and advised him that I will be making myself, my staff and my senior officials available to him, to work through any detail or any concerns that he may have in relation to the package. And of course this is a pleasing development because it seems now that we have at least five Senators who are prepared to put Australia first, who are prepared to sit down with me and work through the details of these reforms, because at the moment we do not have a world class university in this country. We will never have one and our children will be graduating from universities that will not enjoy the high reputation which they currently do and will not have it in the future unless we get these reforms passed and passed in the next two weeks.
Whilst there isn’t any crisis in Australian higher education, if these reforms are not passed, and passed this year, as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Wollongong has said, it will precipitate a genuine crisis in Australian higher education.
Journalist:
(inaudible) that it would take significant changes to the rules (inaudible) are you willing to do any more than just tinker around the edges?
Brendan Nelson:
Well I’ve said repeatedly that these reforms are essential to Australia’s future and the future of high quality university education. I’ve already announced a number of changes to the package, administrative changes and funding changes since they were introduced. I’ve repeatedly also said that we wouldn’t be prepared to have fundamental elements of the package removed, but of course the issues that have been raised by Senator Cherry and by a number of the independent Senators, the ones that we’re currently negotiating and we’ll see how far we can get.
Journalist:
Are you willing to bump up the $150 million?
Brendan Nelson:
Well a number of requests have been put to me by the Senators, and by the Australian Vice Chancellors, which would mean even more public money be invested in the package. We’ll see how we go in terms of the negotiations and the Government will have to make a decision between maintaining policy integrity on the one hand and any additional calls on the Budget on the other. But we are determined to see the packages passed.
Journalist:
Will you be able (inaudible) education plus, or the like?
Brendan Nelson:
We’ll see how we go David. What I’m determined to do is to see that we get more public money into Australian universities, we get flexibility in terms of the way that they’re run and also to make sure that we don’t just get the taxpayers chequebook and put more money into it. We also (need to) change the way in which the universities are run and regulated. You cannot do one without the other.
Journalist:
Will you be asking your Cabinet colleagues this morning for more money for the education bill?
Brendan Nelson:
We’ll be talking about a whole lot of things.
Journalist:
Apparently the Prime Minister is going to be visiting I think the Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney to hear his concerns?
Brendan Nelson:
The Prime Minister has taken a keen interest in higher education reform from the outset. When I put to him early last year the range of problems which face Australian universities and a process for reviewing it, he was supportive from the outset and he has met with a whole variety of Vice Chancellors and Chancellors. The other point that needs to be made repeatedly is the University of Western Sydney does not lose a single dollar from this reform package.
What we are doing is we’re moving to fund universities for what they actually do and deliver to Australian students. The fact is the University of Western Sydney has moved out of high cost into low cost courses over the last ten years. From the Transition Fund, which is worth $39 million, the University of Western Sydney will be fully compensated in the first two years of the transition, beyond which it will be better off, as will every other university. It is not correct for people to argue that the University of Western Sydney is losing money, it is not losing a single dollar. Every dollar that it would otherwise lose, $7 million or thereabouts, it will be fully compensated with a cheque from the Transition Fund.
Thanks very much.
End.
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