UA chair John Dewar says the economy ‘would be sunk’ without universities

Universities are making a plea to the Albanese government for higher education to be central to the national economic strategy.

New Education Minister Jason Clare will make his first speech on higher education to the Universities Australia conference. Photo: Bronwyn Farr.

Universities will make a plea to the Albanese government for higher education to be made central to the national economic strategy, pointing to their importance in creating skills and doing the research that powers the economy.

“Without our universities, our economy would be sunk,” Universities Australia chair John Dewar will say in a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday.

“Every industry, from mining to health and IT would struggle to operate. Especially now, in the middle of a major skills crisis,” he will say.

“In almost every industry sector you will find major partnerships with Australia’s universities to keep the pipeline of people and research flowing. More are needed.”

His speech will launch this year’s Universities Australia conference in Canberra, the annual event which universities use to lobby the nation’s political class.

New federal Education minister Jason Clare will make his first speech on higher education to the conference, a highly anticipated event which the higher education community hopes will shed light on Labor policies.

John Dewar

In the speech Professor Dewar, who is also the vice-chancellor of La Trobe University, is also expected to call for a lift in funding to universities, providing sufficient government-funded student places to deal with the current skill shortages and enough research funding to ensure the sustainability of Australia’s research effort.

He is also expected to address universities’ dissatisfaction with the highly differential tuition fee structure introduced by Morrison government which charges students doing business, law and humanities degrees over three times as much as those doing teaching degrees, or maths and English subjects.

In the speech Professor Dewar will say that universities no longer represent the elite. “Universities are no longer bastions of privilege; they are engines of opportunity,” he will say.

He will remind the audience of the huge proportion of Australians who now hold a university degree, noting that in the 1960s only 1 per cent, and by the 1980s only 6 per cent, of Australian’s held a degree. “Most of them men. Often from similar backgrounds.”

Professor Dewar will also cite the latest statistics which show that in 2021, 43.5 per cent of people aged 25 to 34 had a bachelor’s degree or above. Many more young women (50.3 per cent aged 25-34) than young men (36.6 per cent aged 25-34) now hold degrees.

“People know the importance of our universities and want their government to act to improve them,” he will say.

“Universities’ contribution to Australia’s prosperity is clear.

“Where there is a university, there is work for locals. Lots of it. Administrators, security staff, cooks, cleaners, baristas and IT technicians … we employ them by the thousands.

“Along with the local hospital, universities are often the largest employer in town.

“The role of universities is particularly obvious in the regions, especially those with economies and communities in transition, in need of new skills and careers for their people.”