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Busy
Emerson handed tertiary portfolio
The pressure is on the newly-appointed minister to elaborate on how much priority he will give to his new role.
Trade minister Craig Emerson has taken on a larger portfolio in Labor’ s new-look cabinet, tacking Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research onto his list of responsibilities.
Emerson will have the support of junior minister Sharon Bird who has been appointed to minister for higher education and skills and South Australia senator Don Farrell who has been promoted to assistant minister for science and research. Bird is already well-known to the higher education and skills sector, having been the parliamentary secretary for higher education and skills since March 2012.
The Greens have already issued a challenge to Emerson to make clear his intent to increase base funding for universities.
The peak universities body and staff union have welcomed the linking of Craig Emerson’ s existing trade and the Asian century responsibilities to higher education, skills, science and research, but warn that the new team has little time to get up to speed.
“ The decision to link trade and competitiveness with higher education, science and research highlight the significance of the sector to Australia’ s future development, a point which has been made strongly in Universities Australia’ s political advocacy and new higher education campaign,” Universities Australia’ s chief executive Belinda Robinson said.
Robinson said the appointments come at a critical time with a number of important challenges facing the sector and with the process of shaping the May budget in full swing.
“ The new ministers will need to take urgent action on a number of policy fronts and with budget negotiations well underway, a strong, stable higher education voice within the government will be critical,” she said.
Robinson urged all three ministers to read Universities Australia’ s pre-budget submission which outlines key points for the government to increase its investment into the sector.
National Tertiary Education Union president Jeannie Rea expressed her support for the new ministers, saying the appointments indicate that the federal government wants to place greater focus on building human capital, workforce productivity and innovation leading into the September election.
Rea said the challenge for the new team is to return public investment to tertiary education.
“ Our concerns are that the budget is just around the corner,” Rea said, adding that the sustainability of Australia’ s tertiary education and research system requires champions of public investment, secure employment and civic-minded social ideas.
Craig Emerson
The opposition has expressed disappointment over the Government’ s ministerial reshuffle saying it will see regional education neglected, particularly as Emerson will remain tied to his other duties.
According to shadow parliamentary secretary for regional education, Fiona Nash, regional Australia needs
Sharon Bird a“ full-time” tertiary education minister. Nash said the move is“ absolutely appalling” and a“ massive insult” to the Regional Universities Network, which has invested a lot into its Smarter Region, Smarter Australia policy initiative.
“ Dr Emerson is keeping his day job as minister for trade and competitiveness as well as his recently acquired extra duty as minister assisting the prime minister on Asian century policy,” Nash said.
“ Trade ministers are rarely in Don Farrell the country when parliament is not sitting; where is Dr Emerson going to find the time to discharge his new responsibility as minister for tertiary education, skills science and research?”
The Chair of RUN, professor David Battersby, has however welcomed the ministers to their new portfolios, saying the importance of tertiary education and regional Australia has been acknowledged with these appointments. n
8 | April 2013