University deregulation: Government still committed to higher education reforms

Updated

Federal funding for universities has become a key election issue, with Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham confirming the Government is sticking with its plan to cut university funding.

Key points: Senator Birmingham confirms Government intends to implement 2014 university deregulation plan

Government is still committed to finding savings from the university sector

Labor's Kim Carr said Government's deregulation program means it will cut $12 billion from sector

Senator Birmingham said the Government needed to find savings from higher education.

"The growth in higher education spending over the last 20 years or thereabouts has essentially gone at double the rate of the economy, so that is not of course a sustainable trajectory for higher education to continue on," he told Sky news.

Senator Birmingham confirmed the Government intends to implement the university deregulation plan announced in the controversial 2014 budget from next year.

"We only ever said that we were deferring implementation of those reforms by 12 months," he said.

"That is what is reflected in the mid-year economic update [and] has been crystal clear ever since I made that announcement."

The Education Minister said the Government was still committed to finding savings from the university sector.

"We know that we have to make sure that that is done in a way that does not stop universities from accessing the funding they need to be able to provide high quality education, high quality research and contribute to Australia's future, which is why this is it is not just a funding cut — it is a reform program," he said.

Government hopes they can slide through to the election: Carr

Labor's Higher Education spokesman Kim Carr said the Government's deregulation program meant it would cut $12 billion from the sector.

"The hope is they can slide through to the election without proper scrutiny and then come back after the election and claim a mandate to slash and burn our university system," he told AM.

Senator Carr has committed to spending $14 billion, which is "extra money in our universities to restore the budget cuts".

He argued Labor's policy would increase the number of students that complete their degrees.

"We can restore quality assurance to the university system by restoring the cuts that have occurred to the tertiary education regulator," he said.

Senator Carr declared Labor had already outlined the savings measures it would implement to fund its promise.

Topics: federal-elections, government-and-politics, access-to-education, university-and-further-education, australia

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