Young: funding needs major overhaul

I worry about simple equations that we are too dependent upon mining and agriculture and this fee deregulation is proposed now as part-panacea for diversifying the economy. Mining and agriculture will continue to supply returns to the economy because they continue to find ways to reduce their labour force and continue to have world demand. The problem with those sectors is thy are largely foreign owned and so most of the net capital share is not repatriated in Australia. Better taxation of those sectors could solve that issue instead of a weak link with Universities as some third force in the economy. Making Universities more exclusive through fees does not connect with Australia’s national economy in this way either. And likely the commercial returns from any research privately funded in future will also leak off-shore with limited value-add to Australia’s accumulated wealth. Let’s not kid ourselves that fee deregulation equals a major step in Australia’s national wealth autonomy. And the international student market is likely to change quicker than mining demand!

Research meanwhile, according to the Fed. Education Dept, is not funded by base funding in the first place, beyond a notional 6% of that base funding according to their last base funding review statement in c.2011. Research has largely been through commercial and competitive public funding and follow up block grants quite separate from fees. If the Gov’t reduces its student based funding further and Universities pick up the gap – where is the research funding component in that? Unless we are now re-articulating the intrinsic connection between teaching and research by saying students have to pay for research as part of their fees? Something I don’t have a problem with by the way. But would rather that be through public mechanisms so the research remains publicly controllable.