2008 Federal Budget: Promises Honoured, Opportunities Missed
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) has
responded positively to measures announced today in the 2008-2009 Federal
Budget, however a number of missed opportunities have marred an otherwise
auspicious start on the road to an education revolution.
The Federal Government has honoured its election promise to double the
number of Australian Postgraduate Awards (APAs) between now and 2012, involving
expenditure of $209M over four years, and to introduce the Future
Fellowships scheme, involving $326M over four years, offering better
opportunities and support for early and mid-career researchers.
Relief for universities,
no relief on the impact of VSU
“The Budget also represents missed opportunities however, including the
30% adjustment to the APA needed to bring it back above the poverty line, and
extending the duration of the award to four years to match the term of
candidature. Continuing to
under-resource the next generation of researchers only compromises our capacity
for innovation and research over time,” CAPA President Nigel Palmer said.
“The most glaring omission in this budget are any measures that begin to
address the impact of VSU on independent services and representation. Consultation on the impact of VSU conducted
by Minister Ellis earlier this year proved one thing: the situation for the
provision of student services and representation as it currently stands is not
sustainable. Urgent measures are now
required to address the devastating impact of the former Federal Government’s
so-called “VSU” legislation.
Income support
reform – maybe next year?
“Australia’s domestic coursework postgraduates won’t have much to cheer
about in this budget. We don’t need
another review to tell us that improved access to income support for coursework
postgrads is an area of critical need. The previous government opened the way to
improvements in this area by allowing a very small number of coursework
postgrads access to rent assistance and Austudy. Genuine equity measures in this area
are now long overdue.
“We commend the Government for adopting a long term view in investing
$500M through the Education Renewal Fund, and $11 billion through the Education
Investment Fund to begin to address crumbling university infrastructure. There are however significant opportunities
that have been missed: The need for better support for the next generation of
researchers, and the crisis we have in sustaining quality student services on
campus are still with us. Without
commitment and vision from this government, problems like this will not go
away,” CAPA President Nigel Palmer concluded.