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Rebuilding trust
UTS pro-chancellor Verity Firth . Photo : Daniel Aarons
What should Labor ’ s Universities Accord look like ?
By Eleanor Campbell
With the new government ’ s Universities Accord process underway , higher education leaders are calling for equity , insecure work and wage theft to be prioritised in the new reform era .
Speaking at the Universities Australia gala on July 6 , Federal Education Minister Jason Clare signalled that a “ small group of eminent Australians ” would soon be recruited to “ build a long term plan for our universities ”.
He said the bipartisan group would function as a partnership linking universities and staff , unions and business , students and parents , and ideally , Labor and Liberal .
UTS pro-chancellor Verity Firth said it was critical community voices and a mix of higher education advocates were prioritised alongside traditional university candidates .
“ Clare said that he wanted to make sure that university education is possible for everyone regardless of their birth , so I think that we need to make sure that we have actual equity experts on the panel ,” Firth told Campus Review .
“ I also think it ’ s critical that if you ’ re going to do equity over a lifetime of learning , one of the things you really do need to do is make sure that the different systems speak to each other .
“ The minister should be looking at people who have experience across post-secondary education , not just higher education , if he really wants to see that smooth transition .”
During his speech , Clare said the accord will help to rebuild fractured trust between the government and the tertiary education sector .
A recent discussion paper from university executive Ian Anderson and consultant Robert Griew described how large-scale job losses , research funding cuts and a government driven “ anti-university rhetoric ” have exacerbated tensions during Covid-19 .
After a period of shifting policy positions and multiple education ministers , bringing consistency to the table will be key to mending relations , Firth said .
“ Everyone has gone through a really tough two years . I think universities felt very alone almost when the JobSeeker legislation was changed multiple times to avoid having to actually pay universities any support ,” she said .
“ I think just having a period of sustainable , consistent approach to higher education policy and a view that we are all in this together is why the accord is a good idea .”
A sustainable , consistent approach to higher education policy … is why the accord is a good idea .
On July 27 university staff and members of the National Tertiary Education Union travelled to Canberra to meet with Jason Clare to lay out their concerns around insecure work and wage theft .
NTEU national president Alison Barnes told Campus Review that regardless of the outcome of the forum , the government must take action to repair the “ catastrophic damage ” that has been inflicted on staff and students .
“ 166,000 workers in the higher education sector are employed on casual or shortterm contracts . That is more than twothirds of the workforce ,” she said .
“ We would be arguing that the government needs to relieve those pressures and devote 1 % of GDP funding , around 20 billion dollars a year total , to our universities .
“ If you do things like that , you can make higher education free for undergraduate students . You can deal with the chronic problems of insecure work . You could create thousands of jobs .” ■
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