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  • The Budget leaves Bradley reforms unfunded

    12/05/11

    The 2011-12 Federal Budget fails to address in any meaningful way the needs and challenges faced by the higher education sector in implementing the Bradley Review reforms, according to Senator Brett Mason, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research.

    “Reforms to higher education recommended by the Bradley Review commence in less then eight months. If this government was at all serious about the future of higher education, this Budget was the last opportunity to begin to prove it,” said Senator Mason.

    The major Bradley Review reforms - embraced by both the government and the Coalition- include the broad commitment to increasing university participation to 40 percent of all 25-34 year olds by 2025, and funding the universities on the basis of student demand from 2012 onwards.

    “These initiatives will not pay for themselves. You can’t expect Australian universities to absorb 20 per cent more students than they currently teach, without increasing the number of staff and expanding the physical infrastructure,” said Senator Mason.

    “The funds that Minister Evans claims the government are investing are a sly trick: what the government gives with one hand, it takes away with another. Any new funding is counterbalanced by the fact that over $800 million has been ripped out of the higher education budget through abolishing various institutions and programs or postponing scheduled expenditure.

    “With much of the ‘new’ money being the result of new indexation arrangements and an increase in Regional Loading funding, it’s clear that for all the rhetoric of billions in new commitments to implement the Bradley reforms, the government still does not have an overarching vision and a plan how to finance the expansion of the university sector.

    “Instead of coming up with a credible and timely plan to back up their policies, the government keeps trying to buy time and hide behind yet another inquiry; the Lomax-Smith review of base funding. The review is set to deliver its report in late October, and the government is expected to respond within the following few months.

    “This is totally unacceptable, since any such response will be delivered too late to be incorporated into the 2012-13 Budget process, which means that universities will only know where they really stand when the 2013-14 Budget is delivered. Conveniently for Labor this falls after the next election.

    “Instead of deliberately deferring the decision until after the next election the government needs to bring the delivery of the Lomax-Smith report forward to August at the latest, so that the government response can incorporated into the 2012-13 Budget process. Unless this is done, the Gillard government deserves yet another fail mark in their higher education policy.”
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Brett Mason

Shadow Minister for Universities and Research

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