policy & reform
campusreview.com.au
fee‑dismantling will prove too logistically
difficult. Then there’s the fact that
government spending will be diverted from
student places to student fees. This, in turn,
could lead to a reduction in places, making
entry more competitive and disadvantaging
certain applicants.
“In 1973-4, Whitlam made education free
here, and that went for 10 years,” he said.
“The evidence was that it didn’t increase
access significantly for disadvantaged
youths. It just meant that the middle class
and higher classes got more access.”
This he terms free education’s ‘red
herring’. Adding weight to his stance, he
pointed out that university is free in around
40 countries. Some, like Germany, are
“remarkably egalitarian”, whereas others, like
Mexico, perpetuate the unequal status quo.
Gavin Moodie is in favour of retaining
student fees, for related reasons. The
adjunct professor in the Department of
Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at
the University of Toronto, who is also an
adjunct professor of education at RMIT,
argues that university students represent the
more privileged in society. Therefore, they
should bear the costs of their education.
“In 2014 only 31 per cent of 17 to 19-year-
olds were enrolled in higher education. Of
those, 83 per cent were from middle and
high socioeconomic status backgrounds,” he
wrote in an email to Campus Review.
“Furthermore, university graduates have
markedly higher incomes than non-
graduates. So removing university fees
transfers resources to people who not
only come from advantaged backgrounds,
but who will enjoy higher incomes in
the future.”
Brain drain or policy reframe?
Pitman offered that New Zealand has
already experienced a 10 per cent increase
in enrolments since its free education
policy commenced, yet he doesn’t think
these numbers comprise volumes of
Australians, because, though “the HECS
system still fails some students … it benefits
far more than it fails”.
Moodie, noting that numerous
Australian university fee policy changes
over the decades have had paltry effects
on participation rates generally, likewise
doesn’t think many students will cross
the pond.
He further mentioned a practical
impediment to Aussie students considering
a Kiwi education: “Most Australian university
students save on living expenses by
commuting to campus from home. They
wouldn’t be able to do this if they studied in
Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Regardless, given the HECS scheme has
bipartisan support, both academics believe
it is here to stay.
Meanwhile, Robertson offered that the
only conceivable Aussie flight risk will be
if New Zealand develops more relevant,
innovative VET courses “if they’ve got free
money flowing for it”. If that happens,
“Australia would be left behind”. ■
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