While the portfolio for education is the province of Julia Gillard that for science and research comes under the egis of Senator Kim Carr.

 

Ultimately, whether he likes it or not, the quality of Labor's promised Education Revolution, particularly in regard to Australia's universities, will depend on the direction determined by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Currently there is little indication that the Prime Minister is taking an active interest but is instead leaving matters to Ms Gillard and Senator Carr.

 

Of course the ultimate success in improving universities' quality, if measured by their contributions to learning and research as well as preparing graduates for their chosen vocations, is dependent on their faculties. Unfortunately, in the recent past this fact hasn't deterred our political representatives from over prescribing and under resourcing the sector.

 

With the May budget and through the championing of Ms Gillard and Senator Carr, significant steps have been undertaken to improve federal funding, but reversing the degradation wrought during the Howard years will take time.

 

What is troubling, however, is that the current Labor government wants -- particularly through the constrictions being championed by Senator Carr -- to overly control how the universities fulfil their obligations, thereby throttling the benefits they can contribute to the nation's commonweal. And so the pressure to impose ill-defined but constraining compacts, hubs and spokes and a monstrously cumbersome and arcane Excellence in Research for Australia.

 

Andrew Trounson in Wednesday's Australian writes: "The federal government will tie teaching and research performance funding to negotiated compacts to encourage distinctive university missions and focus research funding among the best performers, according to two new discussion papers. The move to drive differentiation has largely been welcomed by the sector, but there are concerns over application of performance measures and the degree of government intervention (our emphasis)."

 

We are also told the government will host in August "a series of meetings to discuss how the compacts will work and agree to interim arrangements that will come into effect next year, [and] under the proposals, all additional money to cover the full cost of research, the so-called Sustainable Research Excellence program that will be worth $300 million a year by 2013, will be tipped into compacts as negotiated performance funding."

 

According to Mr Trounson: "Effectively one-third of this money will be allocated in line with institutional success in competitive grants, as under institutional block grants. But two-thirds will be allocated in line with specific performance targets based on the Excellence in Research for Australia initiative under development and a transparent assessment of what the actual indirect costs are."

 

And if you haven't guessed we are also informed that: "Given ERA is still in development, the government is proposing to initially use a proxy measure based on the number of weighted publications."

 

Heaven forbid that oncosts be awarded together with the grants awarded to recipients by the ARC or NHMRC.

 

Earlier this month Steven Schwartz, the New York born and educated, vice-chancellor of Macquarie University addressed a regional conference of the Association of Tertiary Education Managers. He compressed the essence of his message to the university managers into "a sort of Hippocratic Oath".

 

Here we've only altered Professor Schwartz' prescription by substituting Ministers for Managers, and yes the reference in this case is specifically to Ms Gillard and Senator Carr.

• Selflessness: Ministers' decisions should be made solely in terms of the University's interest.

• Integrity: Ministers should be free from financial or other obligations to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them.

• Objectivity: In carrying out business, ministers should make choices on merit.

• Accountability: Ministers must be accountable for their decisions and actions.

• Openness: Ministers should be as open as possible about all the decisions they take.

• Honesty: Ministers have a duty to resolve any conflicts of interest in a way that protects the university's interest.

So where does this get us?

 

It may be worthwhile referring to a comment made by former West Indian cricket captain (1974-85) Clive Lloyd when asked to explain his approach to captaining the brilliant team in his charge: "I toss the ball to one of four guys and tell the rest of them to go to their positions."

 

Perhaps Senator Carr might consider that a useful analogy.