news campusreview. com. au
Surprise! NCRIS funding survives
Money for research, once linked to passage of deregulation package, OK’ d for another year.
By Andrew Bracey
The National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy( NCRIS) is to retain its funding for at least another 12 months, following the government’ s decision to uncouple the spending measure from its university deregulation bill, which the Senate has now twice voted down.
The change also included an agreement by the Coalition to drop the proposed 20 per cent cut in funding for the Commonwealth Grants Scheme, in a move that was part of the government’ s latest unsuccessful bid to pass its reforms.
The announcement from the education minister, Christopher Pyne, came despite an interview on the ABC program Insiders just 24 hours earlier in which he reaffirmed the Coalition’ s warning that about 1700 research jobs funded via NCRIS could be lost unless the Senate passed its reform package in full.
“ I want to re-fund [ NCRIS ] and I’ ve had to find the savings,” Pyne told the ABC.“ The savings are in the reform. Therefore, the savings and the spending are inextricably linked. You can’ t do one without the other.”
However, in announcing changes to the government’ s reform package prior to the upper house vote, Pyne conceded that it had become clear to him the bill would“ not pass the Senate in its current form”.
“ As part of my discussions with the cross-bench Senators, the government has decided to remove the distraction and guarantee funding for the [ NCRIS ] for a further 12 months,” he said.“ The funding for this will be found from offsets in the Budget and it will not be subject to the passage of the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill.
“ I want the Senate to consider these vital reforms for universities and the great benefits this package brings for students without any further distractions.”
When questioned as to how the government had been able to find sufficient savings to fund the changes, Pyne told Sky News that his solution would be revealed in the May budget as he wanted it“ to be a surprise”.
“ I’ m a fixer,” he said.“ I’ ve cleared it away … I’ ve fixed it”.
The government’ s change of strategy came after the Go8 took out paid advertisements slamming the Coalition’ s for making research funding dependent on the passing of its contentious deregulation laws.
“ Shutting down research facilities is such a dumb thing for a clever country to do,” the ads argued.
Of the same looming measures, Universities Australia chief executive Belinda Robinson told ABC radio:“ We’ ll pay a very significant price indeed if we let these facilities go.”
Labor, the Greens and cross-bench Senators had meanwhile flagged plans to use a Senate motion to officially condemn the linking of research funding with the reforms.
Greens higher-education spokeswoman Lee Rhiannon dismissed Pyne’ s decision to split the legislation, labelling it“ the latest desperate manoeuvre from a desperate government”.
“ Having lost several key votes in the Senate, the government’ s plan to split the bill is a last-ditch attempt to save face by avoiding a negative vote,” Rhiannon said.“ He says he has listened to the cross-bench, but his higher education reforms remain exactly the same – all he has done is split the bills.
“ After promising the bill would be voted on by March, the Abbott Government will now drag universities through more months of uncertainty.
“ University staff, students and the community have comprehensively rejected Pyne’ s deregulation agenda.” n
4