Monash University's VC Writes a Constructive Op-Ed but are any Parliamentarians Taking Notice. (December 16, 2005)

Prof Richard Larkins

A couple of days ago Richard Larkins, vice-chancellor of Monash University, told The Age, that it was "offensive" that banning compulsory extra-academic student fees had become a major issue for the Howard Government. "When you consider the magnitude of the challenges faced by our universities, this is really a side issue being driven for ideological issues. I find the whole process from beginning to end offensive."

Now Monash's VC has written an 1000 word opinion piece for the paper expressing his viewpoint constructively and in greater detail. Whether any political heavyweights will listen, let alone deign to act usefully, is another matter.

Professor Larkins first makes the point that the Heigher Education Workplace Relations Requirements Bill imposes

requirements for universities additional to those imposed on the general workforce. A HEWRR-compliant enterprise agreement is required by a specified date and increases in the Commonwealth Grant Scheme allocation are now tied to demonstrated compliance. But it is not enough to have both the universities' lawyers and the Education Minister's departmental staff determining whether an agreement is "HEWRR-compliant". The minister has reserved the right to disallow the funding (many millions of dollars for each university) if, despite the legal and departmental advice, he does not think the enterprise agreement fits the bill.

 

...Linking of the increase in the grant scheme funding to the types of requirements in the HEWRRs was specifically excluded from the Higher Education Support Act in 2003 and was a condition of support from the four independent senators at that time.

 

The Senate majority has altered all that.

He follows up saying that so-called voluntary student unionism is really "about the Government saying whether our universities would be allowed to fund essential and non-essential but desirable student amenities and services by levying a compulsory fee...

These fees have funded or subsidised a variety of facilities... For example, at Monash University there are more than 100 clubs and societies, all well run with financial auditing, rules to ensure inclusiveness and proper process. They range from a choral society, through student theatre, a philharmonic society..., a debating society... sporting clubs, a chess club, country groups (open to all nationalities) and many others.

 

Thousands of students are involved, particularly rural and international students.

But at this point the vice-chancellor gets to the points he really wants to make:

What we are really talking about is micro-regulation and control by a government... Perhaps instead of the ideological trivia, we should have the Government focusing on why public expenditure per Australian student has fallen 30 per cent in real terms since 1995, the biggest fall of any country in the OECD and in stark contrast to marked increases in public expenditure in many countries that seem to value their young people and the contribution they can make to economic development. Both political parties have contributed to this. The Labor Party introduced the farcical "indexation" system that delivers increases in funding of 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent a year at a time when costs are rising by 6 per cent to 8 per cent. The Government might also ponder if the rise in the student/staff ratio from 14 to 1 in 1994 to 20 to 1 now is desirable.

 

And let us have discussion on how, through investment in research and development, we can encourage the development of innovative new industries and high-technology manufacturing... and not [be] reliant solely on digging things out of the ground and on service industries.

 

Rather than retire to the Christmas break triumphant about the passage of its new laws, the Government should have a collective feeling of shame that its childish and ideological preoccupations should have made it oblivious of the real totemic issues.

Not until Professor Larkins and his colleagues can gain the sympathetic attention of Australian voters and get them to look upon the universities much as California's voters do theirs will progress be made. Currently he may have a far more supportive audience if he engages Victorians and their political representatives than lobbying nationally.