Research cash used to buy votes, say top universities

Top research universities say the government is using research cash to buy votes in the regions.

Education Minister Dan Tehan. Picture: Kym Smith.

Top research universities have lashed out at the government for shifting $135 million out of research funding to pay for more student places in regional universities and expand a scholarship scheme for rural students.

The Group of Eight universities, which do most university-based research, called yester­day’s announcement by Edu­cation Minister Dan Tehan a “desperate decision to raid the base funding of Australia’s world-class research in what can only be a failed attempt to sandbag regional seats”.

The lion’s share of the money — $40.7m — will go to Federation University’s Berwick campus in Melbourne’s outer east, squarely in the seat of La Trobe held by the Liberals’ Jason Wood on a margin of 1.5 per cent

Another $30.2m goes to the Caboolture and Fraser Coast campuses of the University of the Sunshine Coast. The Caboolture campus is in the marginal seat of Longman, held by Labor in a by-election in July.

The funding announcement has split Australia’s universities.

Regional University Network chairman Greg Hill, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast, said the government was “listening to the voice of regional Australia in the national interest”.

While the Group of Eight stressed that it backed supporting students in regional areas, chief executive Vicki Thomson accused the Morrison government of “a blatant targeted funding raid” and compared it to the “infamous ‘whiteboard’ pork-barrelling of a then Labor federal sports minister, Ros Kelly”.

The chief executive of peak body Universities Australia, ­Catriona Jackson, said it was reckless to take research money from all universities to pay for the extra regional support.

Mr Tehan said the $135m was a “small reallocation” within the $17bn higher education budget to ensure regional students “get the same opportunities as ­students in the capital cities”.

But the Australian Academy of Science said that it was “very concerned” that research money would be reallocated.

The opposition’s research spokesman, Kim Carr, said Mr Tehan’s move was “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.