Cyclone Alfred, upcoming budget, DFAT-University Forum: Latest rundown of higher education

From our Chief Executive Officer

This time last week I was speculating on what, if any, impact Cyclone Alfred would have on the Prime Minister’s decision to call the election over the weekend. Within hours, those plans had changed, and the Government committed to handing down a budget on 25 March, as scheduled, and delaying the election by at least three weeks. Australians now won’t go to the polls until 3 May at the earliest.

While I am mostly indifferent to the timing of the election, I am relieved that the primary driver of the PM’s decision, Cyclone Alfred, was not as destructive as forecasts suggested. That’s not to say our colleagues in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales came through entirely unscathed.

I appreciate there has been disruptions to campus life in those areas and I want those of you in affected places to know that we are all thinking of you as the clean-up continues.

In Canberra, we are now turning our focus to the upcoming budget. The Treasurer has confirmed it will have a similar theme to Labor’s past three budgets: cost of living and helping households. Further energy bill relief is thought to be the centerpiece of that.

What’s in there for higher education remains to be seen. As you will all recall, the Government committed serious dollars in last year’s budget and the mid-year economic and fiscal update in December to implementing its priorities out of the Accord.

Surprise revenue gains to the tune of $24 billion give the Government more room to spend in this budget than first anticipated. We are seeking to understand if universities will benefit from this, or whether the government will instead bank the windfall to improve the budget bottom line. We’ll update you as we learn more.?

As always, UA will be in budget lock-up on 25 March and I look forward to sharing our comprehensive briefing materials with you shortly after the Treasurer stands to hand down the budget that night. We’ll have additional, in-depth analysis to share with you in the days after.

This week, we have also been engaging with members to understand the extent to which changes to U.S. foreign aid policies may impact Australian research partnerships. You would have no doubt seen media reports on this over the last couple of days.

UA is aware that researchers at some of our universities have received a questionnaire regarding the nature of their funding agreement with U.S. agencies. I want you all to know that we are engaging with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the U.S. embassy in Canberra and Australia’s embassy in Washington to clarify this situation and the potential implications for our universities, including on their contribution to Australia’s R&D priorities and their partnerships across the Asia Pacific region.

We will have an opportunity to discuss this at the upcoming DFAT-University Forum in Canberra next month. Information about that has been sent to members and I hope to see many of you there!

I’ll leave it there for today. I hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Luke Sheehy

Chief Executive Officer, Universities Australia