By Glenn Withers. The relative neglect of higher education investment in political debate is a missed opportunity.
The economic evidence is that not only does higher education build the economy’s skills and knowledge, but that it pays for itself many times over.
On average, university training in Australia has paid a rate of return of around 14-15% according to analysis of 2006 and 2011 census data. University research has delivered an average rate of return of 25%.
In 2014, university graduates added an estimated $140 billion to Australian gross domestic product (GDP), due to higher labour force participation, employment and productivity.
What’s more, education is currently Australia’s fourth largest export. More...

By James Weinberg. If the notion of democratic citizenship is universal, then citizenship education, as a prerequisite of both political equality and democratic sustainability, should be a universal right. More...

By Ian Freckelton QC. Most scientists and medical researchers behave ethically. However, in recent years, the number of high-profile scandals in which researchers have been exposed as having falsified their data raises the issue of how we should deal with research fraud. More...

By Amit Dasgupta. When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Australia in 2014, he described India’s relationship with Australia as “a natural partnership arising from our shared values and aspirations”. More...

By Peter Dawkins. Higher education policy is one of the biggest challenges facing the new federal government.
The budget forward estimates show substantial savings from a 20% cut in the government subsidy per student. More...

By Andrew Norton. With the Liberals returned to office, their higher education review process will almost certainly continue. But any hope that the election would smooth the path to higher education reform is now gone. The government has less room to move than before. More...

By Peter Coaldrake and Lawrence Stedman. In the absence of solid evidence about quality and standards, widespread concern has emerged that our university system is unsustainable.
Those providing the money worry that it is unsustainably expensive, while many of those inside the sector catastrophise that it is under-resourced to the point of becoming unsustainable. More...