What We Need To Do Is To Deliver Our Promises [as regards the universities] And We Will --  Julia Gillard. (December 10, 2007)

The Australian's Samantha Maiden interviewed the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Minister for Education and Minister for Social Inclusion, Julia Gillard, focusing on Labor's intentions regarding Australia's university sector.

From the tenor of Ms Maiden's report the education minister was somewhat defensive: "Ms Gillard said 'everybody knew' what Labor's policy was and that it was now a question of negotiating the detail with universities."

But the minister also "played down universities' hopes that Labor would announce a big-spending policy to index university grants to reflect academics' salaries in Treasurer Wayne Swan's first budget," while confirming that the government is now considering how it will distribute funds from the $6bn higher education fund for capital investments, such as lecture theatres and other infrastructure.

She was emphatic that: "We can guarantee.. the policy will be delivered and the policy is known, and... we will work with universities in answering the distribution questions. We've got to work that through. Obviously the allocation of student places between universities changes from year to year. It's a function of student demand. Some universities periodically hand places back... As you would be aware, the number of places at university also moves for its own reasons associated with student demand. But I would reject any suggestion the policy wasn't well known."

And what might be taken for a plea to the universities stop fussing Ms Gillard told Samantha Maiden: "Obviously we want Australian universities to be world class. One of the new international index ratings that was published [last week] showed us slipping. Australian universities are obviously saying to government, and have for a long period of time, that they feel under-resourced and undervalued and they are concerned about their competitive position in the world. What we need to do [as a government] is to deliver our promises and we will."

Last week representatives of the Group of Eight, the Australian Technology Network, the Innovative Research Universities and the New Generation Universities met to find common cause, and Universities Australia (UA) appears to be taking seriously its brief to represent all of Australia's public universities. It is to hold its first meeting with Ms Gillard and Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Minister Kim Carr today, and according to Luke Slattery of The Australian, it is "expected to seek assurances about the integration of the two portfolios of education and research," though just what those assurances are aren't specified.

Well, the universities have been told by the new government that they're got the message.

It now remains to be seen what will be done about it.