CAPA Media Releases

"The current furore over the reduction in standards for undergraduate students is only the tip of the iceberg," said CAPA President John Byron today.

"Recent research conducted by CAPA and published in Australian Universities' Review last year (1) demonstrates that postgraduate coursework education has suffered some serious quality compromises since it was fully deregulated in 1994."

CAPA has slammed Minister Kemp's proposals to transfer up to $474 million in research funds from public universities to private providers (in the Australian Research Council (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2000 due to be introduced into parliament this sitting.)

CAPA President, Bradley Smith, said "the Bill gives the Minister the power to give public funds to commercial and political organisations such as the extreme deregulationist Centre For Independent Studies at the expense of public universities."

CAPA endorses the Go8's call for reinvigorated debate and decisive action on higher education and research policy.

However, the Go8 discussion paper, Imperatives and Principles For Policy Reform In Australian Higher Education, fails to effectively grapple with the core issues of private investment in education.

CAPA President, Bradley Smith, said "the Go8 discussion paper is the latest in a string of reports that make a lucid and compelling case for immediate and substantial public re-investment in basic research and, more generally, higher education."

CAPA has welcomed the Victorian government's introduction of a bill to repeal so-called Voluntary Student Unionism, which the former Coalition government enacted in 1994.

CAPA President, Bradley Smith, said, "VSU is an undemocratic and unacceptable intrusion into university affairs."

"The current legislation bans funding of elections and political debate in student publications. That is, it is a legislation that is fundamentally hostile to democratic representation."

The Government has delayed introducing the two main changes to funding research and research education in Universities until 2002. Implementation will now occur after the next election.

CAPA President, Bradley Smith, has welcomed the delay. "The White Paper will do significant damage to Australia's research capability."

However, Mr. Smith warned "the removal of up to 3,500 'gap places' for research students will still go ahead in 2001, devastating the research programs of regional, technological and new universities".

CAPA President, Bradley Smith, said "the two announcements at the ALP conference today are forward looking."

"They demonstrate the ALP's recognition of the centrality of developing and nurturing Australia's research and development capability in all parts of the country".

"The doubling of Research Fellowships and the condemnation of the reduction of research 'gap places' are significant steps toward ending the "brain drain" of the best researchers overseas and the "brain drain" from regional to metropolitan areas."

CAPA has warned that the Central Queensland University and other regional universities will be hard hit by the government's plan to cut postgraduate research numbers. CQU stands to lose over 50 places; nearly 40% of its current research student load.

Speaking at a forum at CQU in Rockhampton today, CAPA President, Bradley Smith, hit out at the reduction of up to 3,500 places nationally and said that "regional Australia can ill-afford to lose R&D and innovation capability".

Responding to comments by Minister Kemp, CAPA President, Bradley Smith, said "The Minister's claim that universities have a "choice" as to how they manage the elimination of 3,500 research 'gap' places is nonsense".

"The Minister now claims that the government's position is to convert these places to ensure access for undergraduates, thereby contradicting his assertions about choice".

The Minister draws attention to the damage that the new funding regime will have on regional universities. He cites the White Paper's regional package as the instrument to ameliorate the damage.

CAPA has attacked the government's intention to cut postgraduate research by up to 3,500 places.

CAPA President, Bradley Smith, said that "cutting research places is yet another example of this government's dis-investment in Australia's research capability and comes at a time when the need to invest in the 'knowledge economy' is an increasingly urgent imperative".

CAPA has hit out at the underhanded way in which the release of a Higher Education Council report Access to Postgraduate Courses: Opportunities and Obstacles has been handled by Minister Kemp.

A hard copy of the report appeared without announcement yesterday and is dated April 2000. However on DETYA's web page it is dated December 1998 and is not listed in their 2000 publications data nor listed by author.