This position paper was prepared in the context of the 2008 Federal Budget, proposing a package of support to allow universities contribute to the government's broader national goals into the future.
This package comprises:
- meeting specific program commitments through Budget spending, especially commitments made for the 2007 Federal Election and several additional proposals
- compensating ongoing core university public funding for real cost adjustments through Budget spending
- supplementing the Higher Education Endowment Fund from the Budget surplus
- creating a new HECS fund for university infrastructure support through securitisation of the HECS repayments stream.
Only the first two of these are direct Budget imposts, and they are modest and affordable. The latter two operate through the encouragement of savings, and deploying the associated investment returns in a measured way to enhance productivity and reduce supply constraints on skills enhancement, through the universities of Australia. Together these initiatives would more than pay their way by growing future public revenue, and are fully compatible with the Government's wider economic, social and environmental goals.
To read the full paper, download the PDF below.
