Two Sandstone Universities put Labor on Notice to Get Their Act Together. (June 15, 2004)

    The Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne are reported by The Australian's Louise Perry and Dorothy Illing to believe that their universities would be worse off as they understand Labor's proposals of rejigging the Coalition's higher education package. Sydney's Gavin Brown told them those changes would cost Sydney University $50 million a year while Melbourne's V-C Kwong Lee Dow "claims the university would lose at least $7 million in the first year of the changes and up to $29 million after four years."

Jenny Macklin speaking as Labor's education spokeswomen countered that the vice-chancellors are wrong and haven't calculated the overall effect of Labor's proposals. But Professor Brown wasn't mollified and said bluntly that is was time Labor clarified just what its higher education policies were telling The Australian "[Labor's extra public money] could not be remotely in the ballpark of the amount we stand to lose with the abolition of fees."

It still remains to be seen when Labor will produce detailed policy papers on higher education and research and development. If those policies reflect only a populist viewpoint there is serious question as to whether or not they present the nation with a credible alternative to John Howard's Coalition.