Surplus should be invested in Australia's future

CAPA welcomes the small specifically targeted funding allocation for research within this year's Budget. However, this funding in no way makes up for the decade of neglect of the entire higher education sector over which the Howard government has presided.

CAPA believes that the Federal government must invest substantial sums in the sector in order to reverse the damage caused by policy failures which have seen universities starved of funding for years.

Commitment to quality education requires an investment in the future, but Australia is falling behind international investment in research and research education. The Budget surplus could have been used to increase the number and range of postgraduate awards to assist students to meet the cost of living while studying.

The Budget allocation of an $81.6 million transitional fund to assist universities to comply with the amendments to the Higher Education Support Act (VSU) is absurd, especially as this funding must also cover the promised review of the economic consequences of VSU. This funding will fail to support fundamental structures and services provided by student organisations such as advocacy and representation.

The small business incentives to replace the services provided by student unions in regional areas are a clear indication of the government's ignorance of the essential services utilised by students, and reveals the Howard government's ideological obsession with silencing the student voice.

Australian universities are competing in a globalised education environment. Without adequate funding invested across the six broad fields of study our institutions will lose their ability to remain competitive or attract high calibre academics and students.