Big sigh of relief as Treasurer spares the axe in budget

LABOR has delivered a higher education budget that runs counter to expectations. Instead of cuts, universities emerge unscathed.

Chris Evans

LABOR has delivered a higher education budget that runs counter to expectations. Instead of cuts to research and dollars shaved from a variety of programs, indexation and a small increase for equity and maths and science promotion have seen universities emerge unscathed.

There was some shuffling of the deckchairs in equity funding as enabling programs received a $41.6 million increase that will see the rate per student grow from the current level of $1800 to $3000 from 2014.

And while the participation arm of the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program took a hit, with funding per student falling from $1800 to $1400, $50m of the $68m in savings will be redirected to the partnerships arm.

Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans said higher education teaching and research was one of the few portfolio areas to emerge from the budget without cuts.

"Penny Wong patted me on the head and called me the protected one," Senator Evans told the HES. "But the reality is, we must improve the skills of our workforce and our capacity to innovate. That is where the future of the economy is. It's really important."

Last night, Macquarie University vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz said: "Indexation has been maintained, student-centred funding has been maintained and uncapped places have been maintained. So, actually, I'm delighted -- this is tangible support for higher education.

"It's as good as we could have hoped for in a very constrained budget period."

However, he said there was "still a lot of work to do" in relation to the base funding review and participation by students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

The government will stump up $6.1 billion in 2013 for government-funded places, and in an otherwise austere budget the government also stuck to its line on indexation of 3.8 per cent.

That additional funding is going to have to cover the cost of additional teachers and teaching resources in lieu of a response to the base funding review in this budget.

"The indexation figure for higher education of 3.8 per cent is more than double the old indexation arrangements," Senator Evans said.

"Sometimes people want to argue that the only growth in funding is being driven by the growth in places, but in fact indexation is driving growth of about $3bn."

Senator Evans said he was working with the department on the base funding review and said a full response could be expected later this year.

The overall research budget will increase to $1.72bn in 2012-13, up from $1.6bn this year.

The Sustainable Research Excellence in Universities program jumped $53m, from $165m this year to $218m for the next financial year.

Science and maths also received a boost of $54m over four years to help increase participation in schools and universities. Chief Scientist Ian Chubb's report to Julia Gillard was released at exactly same time as the budget. Divvied up, the amount included $20m for outreach programs, $11m for improving university teaching of maths and science, $6.5m for scientists in schools programs and an extra $5m for Nobel Physics Prize laureate Brian Schmidt's pet science education project, Primary Connections.

"Australia will have to produce more people who are competent in maths and science," said Jeanette Hacket, chair of the technology universities group and Curtin University vice-chancellor.

"It's a great application of resources for a field which is so important for our international competitiveness."

University of NSW deputy vice-chancellor (research) and lead research deputy vice-chancellor for the Group of Eight universities, Les Field, also welcomed "the investment in maths and science students because we are vulnerable there in terms of our future workforce".

Monash University vice-chancellor Ed Byrne said he was relieved the government had stood by higher education, noting that the sector was under pressure with a downturn in international student markets.

"The university sector in this two-speed economy is one of the sectors that is affected by the high dollar in terms of our international business, and the next year or two will continue to be quite tight for the sector financially as a result of that," he said.

"It is pleasing that the government has maintained funding for higher education and research in a budget that was clearly under some pressure."

Curtin's Professor Hacket said the budget outcome was an "enormous relief" and added that it was "an excellent commitment towards the productivity and performance of Australia".

"We look forward to the government meeting, in the longer term, the funding through completion of the base funding review," she said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: JILL ROWBOTHAM, ANDREW TROUNSON AND BERNARD LANE