E&OE

Adam Shirley:
Universities Australia reckons that a one per cent increase in investment in higher education research and development could make $24 billion worth of difference over the next decade, to staff performance, to wages, to what our research institutions can achieve. Catriona Jackson is Universities Australia chief executive. That’s a pretty big claim, but why have you come out with it now?

Catriona Jackson:
Look Adam, I think it’s the self-evident. When you look down at the figures, you look at the performance of universities, it’s so clear that universities are fundamental to Australian productivity and right now, every Australian knows we have a problem with productivity. We’ve got stagnating wages, we’ve got increases in the cost of living, but we’ve also got really good economic resilience. We need to make sure we are making the absolute most of everything we’re doing at the moment as we recover from this hideous pandemic. Universities are absolutely standing ready to play their part. We know additional investment, and we are not just saying “government, give us more.” Absolutely not. It’s universities, business and government. Increase that level of investment so we can reap the rewards even more fully for every single Australian.

Adam Shirley:
In making this submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry, where does the money come from across those three areas you’ve mentioned? I’m trying to understand what proportion you think should come from which groups.

Catriona Jackson:
Look, we haven’t busted it up that way. Adam, we’ve just got Deloitte to do some modeling for us. And they say a simple one percent additional investment means every single year, another $2.4 billion on our GDP. If you look at it over a decade, $24 billion, that’s a really impressive number. Of course, it isn’t just about numbers, but that’s a really nice start isn’t it. If you look at where we sit internationally, we invest about 1.79 per cent of our GDP into research. Other countries invest a lot more. The average over the OECD is 2.4 per cent countries like South Korea, Israel. They invest more than four per cent of their GDP. That means that governments doing more, universities are doing more, but also industry is doing more. We are all in this together. We all need to pull it together and make sure that we’re making an investment which really reaps those rewards for Australians.

Adam Shirley:
So take us into a lecture hall at the university of Canberra or a tutorial of the ANU, or a practical work course at the Canberra Institute of Technology. How will that one per cent make a difference in those settings?

Catriona Jackson:
For those individual students looks the most important thing about everything we do in relation to higher education is how it impacts on those individual students. Because what is it that’s going to make a difference to our productivity? It’s the skills of every single one of those young Australians and middle aged Australians and older Australians. Remember Adam, it isn’t quite the same as it was when you and I were at university. It’s not that. It’s not all 17, 18 and 19-year-olds. Lots of Australians are going back to university or going to university for the first time in middle age. So we’ve got an enormous growth in the skills of Australians through the university system. So more investment simply means there’ll be more places and more research. They’re the two things that can really make a difference to productivity. We know we are staring down the barrel right now, a very significant demographic bulge when Peter Costello back in the day said, “have one for me and one for the country.” it turns out actually people did. So there are lots more 18 and 19- year-olds coming on stream this decade. And a really big bulge in 2023-24. So governments of whatever persuasion needs to sit down with the sector and just make sure we’re providing enough places so that every Australian kid gets a fair go like their brothers and sisters did before them.

Adam Shirley:
So in the last few years there has been a reluctance to increase funding to the sector. I think that’s fair to say. Realistically, how much appetite is there for your call? I mean, how likely is it that this sort of money will be found?

Catriona Jackson:
Look, I think it just makes good economic sense. I think it makes good sense as we pull out, sorry, I don’t want to say pull out. You feel like you’re cursing it. But as we move through the pandemic and as we do really well in comparative terms with other countries. So it makes sense. I believe in things that make sense, I suppose I would coming from university peak body-

Adam Shirley:
Sure, but is it likely I mean will the decision makers perhaps approve this even if in your mind it makes sense?

Catriona Jackson:
Oh, look, it’s a question for them, Adam, but it’s not true to say there’s been no investment. There was a substantial increase in research money in the middle of the pandemic. $1 billion additional for research, which was really important. There’s been a research commercialisation package out from the government in the recent past and another significant financial investment on the opposition side, given we are in the middle of an election campaign. There have been substantial promises about additional places. So I think there is an understanding out there in the community and in parliamentary parties about the fundamental role that universities play in making sure that Australians really get to fulfill their potential. And as they’re fulfilling their potential, they’re just more productive individuals.

Adam Shirley:
Yeah. On the other side of that though, JobKeeper did not apply for the university sector. And there was a lot of disappointment and quite a bit of debate as to whether that should have happened or not. As you look at it now, how much did that decision have an impact on the funding universities now have, and the staffing requirements or needs of universities?

Catriona Jackson:
Oh look Adam, we of course would’ve preferred universities to be eligible for JobKeeper. But the past is the past. There have been a number of decisions made since then which have increased funding for research and for research commercialisation. We are looking forward very much to the review of the package. The big change in the way university places are funded. There’s a review of that in the middle of this year. We’d like to have a really close look to see what the consequences of those big changes are. It isn’t just about whether universities got JobKeeper or not. The Job Ready Graduates package, which is a couple of years old now, was a very big change to the way universities are funded is up for review in the middle of this year. We think it’s really important that review is a serious and comprehensive one.

Adam Shirley:
Appreciate your time today, Ms. Jackson, thanks for it.