The Coalition’s Plan for Real Action to Higher Education
20-August-2010
The Coalition is committed to higher education as the fundamental, essential and enduring building block of opportunity for young Australians and prosperity and cohesion for Australia’s future.
Universities play an important dual role in our society, both as engines of economic growth, through educating our workforce and producing quality research, as well as preserving and growing the shared values and culture that connect us with the past and unite us in the present.
The contribution of higher education to our economy is very significant, both directly (at $14.16 billion, education services were Australia’s third largest export earner for the year 2007-08, behind coal and iron ore, the bulk of it spent by international students in Australia1), as well as indirectly (such as commercialization of research, estimated to result in average returns of 20 per cent,2 not to mention the general contribution through increased productivity and increased standards of living).
Quality education and research are therefore crucial to our nation’s success in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. As such, universities need greater freedom and flexibility to respond to changing circumstances and ensure that Australia is able to face emerging challenges.
The Coalition has a strong and impressive record of building and supporting Australia’s higher education system. It remains one of the proud legacies of the Menzies government. During the term of the previous Coalition government, it is a record of increased funding, sensible reform, and continuing support for students.
The Coalition understands the short and long term challenges facing Australia’s higher education system. That is why the Coalition is committed to long-term, ongoing reform of the sector aimed at giving students more choice and universities more freedom and flexibility to compete with the rest of the world and take advantage of new opportunities.
The Coalition is also committed to providing the higher education sector with a stable, long term source of infrastructure funding, and providing students with greater assistance in order to increase participation and equity in higher education. Furthermore, the Coalition is committed to the continuation of the current arrangements regarding full indexation of university funding.
The Coalition supports in principle the development of a national regulatory agency for the sector (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency), however, we have broad concerns, particularly the need to balance the new regulatory framework with the movement towards a more demand-driven funding model. The Coalition wants to see more consultation with the tertiary sector about the details of the scheme; we also want to see less red tape and so to prevent any duplication in regulation we will seek to ensure that the state refer oversight to a single federal agency.
Lastly, the Coalition will advocate for a quality assurance system that is flexible in its approach. Australian tertiary institutions are not all alike, and the Coalition will not burden the sector unduly when it is not needed or justified.
The Coalition believes that:
• Education is the fundamental, essential and enduring building block of opportunity for young Australians and prosperity and cohesion for Australia’s future;
• The path to successful higher education starts with primary and secondary education defined by high quality, access, choice as well as values and standards;
• Universities play an important dual role in our society, both as engines of economic growth, through educating our workforce and producing quality research, as well as preserving and growing the shared values and culture that connect us with the past and unite us in the present;
• Quality education and research are crucial to our nation’s and our people’s success in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. As such, universities need greater freedom and flexibility to respond to changing circumstances and ensure that Australia is able to meet emerging challenges; and
• All Australians should be encouraged to pursue higher education and be supported while pursuing it.
The Coalition has a plan for real action on higher education including the following initiatives:
1. Promotion of international student safety by facilitating working groups and promoting pairing programmes
2. Giving universities the freedom to grow by offering full-fee paying places to potential students
3. Upholding the principle of freedom of association for students
4. Establishing a new AUSCORPS programme to encourage up to 1,000 university students to undertake volunteer work in exchange for HECS credits
5. Relaxing the rules for Independent Youth Allowance
6. Giving a real voice and more secure foundations for the future of regional education
7. Remedying the misallocation of funding for increased low SES participation
For more information on this policy click here