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Education Minister Jason Clare . Picture : NewsWire / Monique Harmer
The political interference in the way competitive grants operate need to end .
Relationship reset
Minister to review political interference in ARC grants .
By Eleanor Campbell
Ministerial powers to block Australian Research Council grants will be scrutinised by the federal government as part of Labor ’ s efforts to “ reset ” relations with universities .
Jason Clare announced an independent review into ARC governance during his first address as education minister . During his speech , titled “ Reset , Rebuild and Reform ”, Clare vowed to deliver all future ARC grants within a pre-determined timeframe as part of a new “ rigorous ” and “ transparent ” process .
“ The delays and the political interference in the way competitive grants operate need to end ,” he told the annual Universities Australia conference .
“ It damages our international reputation . It also makes it harder for you to recruit and retain staff .
“ It ’ s my job to make sure the Australian Research Council has competent leadership and is functioning well .”
The review follows recommendations from a Senate committee in March which examined the backlash surrounding former education minister Stuart Robert ’ s decision to scrap six ARC humanities projects late last year .
The rejection came after researchers were kept waiting until the end of
December to hear the outcomes for the 2022 funding round .
Peak bodies Universities Australia and the Group of Eight , along with dozens of individual academics and institutions , have long called for the delays and veto powers to be removed .
During a March Senate hearing , UA president Catriona Jackson said delays in decisions were “ a matter of profound concern ”.
“ An orderly system in which there are predictable timelines [...] is not just a matter of convenience for researchers ; it ’ s a fundamental matter relating directly to how they earn their living and how they can progress with their research ,” Jackson said .
In his speech , Clare vowed to appoint a “ small number of eminent Australians ” to lead Labor ’ s promised Australian Universities Accord .
The group will operate as a bipartisan partnership between universities , government , unions , students and businesses , to build consensus on higher education reform .
Clare also pledged to increase university access for disadvantaged students .
The minister announced $ 20.5 million over four years to expand the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education , based at Curtin University .
Universities must ‘ try harder ’ on wage theft : La Trobe vice-chancellor Universities Australia chair Professor John Dewar used his keynote speech to call for more funding towards research and development .
He also hinted towards allegations of systemic wage theft occurring across the university sector .
“ In recent times , some universities have failed to pay their casual staff properly – something that clearly should not have happened and which all universities must address as a matter of urgency ,” Dewar said . “ We can do better .” According to Dewar , overall research and development spending , as a proportion of GDP , declined from 2.25 per cent in 2008-09 to 1.79 per cent in 2020 .
Figures from the National Skills Commission show that a million new jobs are going to be created in Australia over the next five years .
More than half of these jobs , Dewar said , will require a bachelor ’ s degree or higher , and more than nine out of 10 will need some form of post-school education .
“ To maintain the supply of graduates at the level Australia needs , we estimate that the number of university places will need to grow by a total of 46,000 to 2027 ,” Dewar said .
“ We are pleased that the Albanese government has committed to an extra 20,000 places in the next few years , but this is a one-off , we need a longer-term solution .”
In 2021 , around 31 per cent of people in Australia aged between 15 and 74 had a bachelor ’ s degree or higher .
Millennials have now become the most educated generation , with 40 per cent of people aged 25 to 34 having a bachelor ’ s degree or above .
As Australia ’ s population and demand for higher education increase , the university system will be short around 19,000 places by 2027 , Dewar warned .
“ We need to ensure that supply of university places keeps up . We can ’ t let these young people down and rob them of their aspirations ,” he said .
“ Give universities the tools we need , and we will help Australia do the job .” ■
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