Australian Universities' Investment Incomes Not Immune from the GFC. (April 8, 2009)

It ought hardly come as a surprise, but Universities Australia has now stated publically through its chief executive, Dr Glenn Withers, that through the years Australian universities had built up investment and commercial income to 10%, or $1.9 billion, of total annual income, but now, six months after the global financial crisis began, "10% of our revenue has fallen to 5% or less. Our best estimate is it's down about $800 million. This will severely compromise our ability to cross-subsidise core research and teaching, which is what we have been doing in the past because of under-funding by government." For example, University of Melbourne professor of statistics, Peter Hall, has pointed out that the "Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute, which is supported precariously from the budgets of cash-strapped university departments around the country, is struggling to find the money it needs just to survive. It is presently directorless, and seeks enough continuity to be able to appoint, and pay, a director over the next few years".

Professor Ross Milbourne, chairman of the Australian technology group of universities and vice-chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney warned that "now is not the time to pull back on investing in our universities," and he has called for "a dramatic reprioritisation" of government spending, concluding, "We continue to under-invest, relative to the OECD, in education".

Dr Withers told The Australian's Guy Healy simply: "...if government doesn't move to implement Bradley (and its funding recommendations), this will defer the ability of universities to help with the recovery process".

Whether or not Prime Minister Rudd and his government heed the admonition of the president of the European Research Council, Fotis Kafatos -- if you think excellence is expensive, try mediocrity -- awaits the bringing down of the budget next month.