‘You can’t learn to care for Australia’s herds of cattle from a desk’: Murdoch VC slams Budget cuts

Murdoch University vice-chancellor, Eeva Leinonen, believes higher education funding cuts included in the Federal Budget have the potential to be very challenging for universities and students. Leinonen is particularly concerned about the impact of funding on her university's core fields of teaching, noting there are many fields of education where the cost of delivery far outweighs any federal funding received. Universities operate in a globally competitive market and are recognised as drivers of growth, jobs and national prosperity. However, Budget after Budget, they are the target of funding cuts. Murdoch does not support cuts to public investment in universities. To do so is at odds with the bipartisan agenda of improving Australia’s innovation, workforce capacity and homegrown talent. Many Australian universities are already under enormous pressure to cover the costs of teaching, research, infrastructure spending and community engagement with limited funds. A further cut to basic funding – on top of $3.9 billion in cuts since 2011 – is a threat to quality tertiary education at a time when Australia is demanding more educated and job-ready graduates to grow our economy. The funding cuts will place more stress on already tight budgets, resulting in further pressure on universities' capacity to deliver high quality education and research. In relation to the impact of funding cuts on Murdoch specifically... There are many fields of education where the cost of delivery far outweighs any federal funding received, veterinary science being the most significant. As one of the leading universities for vet science in the world, Murdoch is acutely aware of the necessary costs associated with teaching this course. Other subjects in which costs clearly outweighed funding were agricultural science, environmental sciences and medical sciences, which are again leading fields of education for Murdoch. We are aware that the minister has outlined an extra loading for veterinary sciences to bring these studies in line with human medicine, which we would welcome, but would like more details about how this loading will be applied. Our teaching makes a measurable difference in the real world and our delivery requires students, researchers and teachers to engage in the field with some of the most significant challenges of the 21st century. You can’t solve issues relating to the impact of soil degradation from a lecture hall and you can’t learn to care for Australia’s herds of cattle from a desk. We need funding that enables our students to engage in the world in which they will work, tackling real problems for the future. Therefore, we also welcome proposals for future funding to enable students gain valuable experience in the workplace. Professor Eeva Leinonen is vice-chancellor of Murdoch University.