1996 Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty Although Speaking to the Hand, Has His Say. (April 17, 2013)

While Prime Minister, John Howard once told Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty that if you want to effect political decisions you should voice your concerns publicly.

Now 72, Professor Doherty is doing just that to Prime Minister Gillard and her Labor government.

We do need a lot more resources to go into the public school system that educates disadvantaged and migrant kids. But universities are the last thing you should raid if you want to send a consistent message on education.

If you want to emphasise education, then you need to emphasise it from kindergarten to postgraduate. That is what is happening in the Asian countries to our north in Singapore, China and Taiwan.

While universities are seen as an easy target, if the government thought about the type of constituency that is likely to support it at the election, why antagonise people from that constituency,