TRANSCRIPT
In Fairfield, a suburb in south-western Sydney, half of the population were born overseas.
It's also where Education Minister Jason Clare and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen both hail from.
“This is where Chris and I grew up. Like Chris, I'm a kid from a public school around the corner, and damn proud of it.”
It's perhaps not surprising then that Fairfield is where the Minister has chosen to unveil the report of the Universities Accord committee, which has been a year in the making.
The report's chair Mary O'Kane says the report is about shaking up the sector.
“It’s a blueprint for giving all Australians as the minister said a chance to get to university or get vocational training and not just all Australians but particularly those who are disadvantaged, it really emphasises that, it's a core aspect of the report. It's also a blueprint for showing how Australia can use the incredible brilliance and capability in its research endeavours and use that to solve really big problems.”
Education Minister Jason Clare says he wants to see more people from the outer suburbs, regions, lower socio-economic backgrounds and Indigenous communities go to university.
“I want to make sure that more kids from the outer suburbs and the regions get a crack at university and succeed when they get there. I want to put more kids on smart street. And that's what this is all about. So that needs based funding is about that as well, making sure that they've got all the support they need to succeed and as part of that recommendation it also includes completion bonus for universities to encourage them to make sure that they help young people who start a degree to finish it.”
The seven member report panel recommended 47 changes, including:
Increasing the number of workers with tertiary education from 60 to 80 percent by 2050...
Improving financial support for students on compulsory placements...
And moving towards a HECS loan system where contributions are based on future potential earnings.
The panel also recommended making better links between higher education and vocational education and training.
Mish Eastman is the Deputy Vice Chancellor of RMIT, which maintains both.
Eastman says it's a vital part of future reforms.
“Looking at structural and policy reform that takes away some of those unintended barriers and consequences is an element of the recommendations we really embrace and look forward to partnering with government to bring to life.”
Industry groups are applauding the report's calls for greater connections, saying that will be essential to filling future skills shortages.
The Australian Industry Group's Megan Lilly:
“It’s an industry aligned agenda and I think that’s incredibly important particularly in terms of developing skills and knowledge for the economy of the future so that really needs to happen hand in hand, we're also heartened by the overt recognition of the importance of getting the whole of the tertiary sector functioning, not just higher education and vocation separately, but to build a greater connection and coherence between them."
But Australia’s wealthiest universities - known as the group of eight - are critical of recommendations for a higher education fund, with the government to match contributions until it reaches 10 billion dollars.
Mark Scott, the vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney, says the group believes the plan is essentially taxing the money being raised by them through international students and philanthropy.
“I think we would have trouble attracting the top international university students we have now if they knew they would be taxed on their funding I also think philanthropists those people who make donations to universities would also be reluctant if they knew that their money was going to be taxed on giving it to the university of their choice.”
The panel also called for a new Australian Tertiary and Education Commission to oversee issues such as staffing, setting pricing and ensuring teaching standards.
The National Union of Students says it is keen to work with the government on this, to achieve a new funding model that addresses casualisation, job insecurity and wage theft.
The federal opposition has also welcomed the report, but says the sector deserves certainty and not a pipe dream of promises.
The government says there will be an official response within months, as it considers the recommendations.
