Launching the Shaping Australia Awards, Jobs and Skills Australia consultative forum: Latest rundown of higher education
Our Chief Executive Catriona Jackson's message
It brings me great pleasure to inform you that next week, UA will be launching the new Shaping Australia Awards program to showcase, on the national stage, the positive contribution universities make to the country.?
The Shaping Australia Awards will recognise and promote the significant ways our universities build and shape Australia’s future, while also celebrating the extraordinary ways our institutions – and the people within them – improve the lives of all Australians, no matter their education background.?
These awards will span teaching, research and community service – not so much replacing our previous flagship awards program, Pitch it Clever, but rather extending the focus to capture, recognise and celebrate all the major functions of our universities.?
This is part of our carefully calibrated communications and advocacy strategy to build greater awareness of, and appreciation for our sector in the community. In doing so, we will strengthen our ability to effectively advocate for the policy settings that will support a thriving higher education sector in the decades ahead.?
To give the program national appeal, we have brought together a judging panel of eminent Australians, chaired by former secretary of the Department of Education and incoming Chancellor of the University of Canberra , Lisa Paul AO PSM .??
Our sector makes a significant contribution to the nation – through the education of skilled workers who drive our economy, in the research and development work we undertake to respond to new challenges and fresh opportunities, and in serving the communities our institutions belong to.?
Can I encourage you all to get behind this new awards program that will showcase the very best of our sector.?
On the parliamentary front this week, UA attended the latest Jobs and Skills Australia consultative forum yesterday with Minister for Skills and Training Brendan O'Connor . Minister O’Connor has been a strong advocate for the role universities play in addressing the serious economic challenges facing Australia right now, and yesterday was no exception.?
He again highlighted the importance of the tripartite model – universities and vocational education and training providers working in partnership with government and unions to get the best results for the nation. The firepower of this whole-of-economy approach was reinforced in the latest labour market update.?
The establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia has provided the landscape for this tripartite collaboration, and our strong advocacy has ensured universities have a seat at the table. We now await the appointment of the permanent ministerial advisory board, as flagged yesterday by Minister O’Connor, to inform JSA’s work priorities, strategies and governance, and look forward to continuing to work closely with the Minister and JSA interim director Peter Dawkins AO on addressing Australia’s current and emerging workforce needs.?
In addition to educating a homegrown workforce, the continued recovery of our international education sector will help in this regard. On Wednesday, we welcomed new data showing the number of international students entering Australia in July was double the number who came in the same period last year. This shows the post-pandemic recovery is not losing momentum, which is excellent news for our institutions, the economy and the communities these students join once in Australia.?
Yesterday, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee tabled its report into current and proposed sexual consent laws in Australia, marking another important step in the ongoing work to address the societal issue of sexual harm.?
I am proud of the role our sector has played in confronting this issue head on, including by taking a leadership position some years ago by conducting the first student safety survey across the whole sector. The committee has recommended to government that UA undertake a similar survey in 2024, something we committed to doing when we met as a Plenary in August.?
The government will now consider the committee’s recommendations and we will be monitoring any developments. In the meantime, UA will continue to work closely with Ms Patricia Kinnersly in her capacity as expert adviser to the working group advising government on ways to strengthen university governance.
Until next time,?
Catriona Jackson?
Chief Executive, Universities Australia??
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CHIEF ECONOMIST’S UPDATE?
The latest gross domestic product figures suggest tax revenues may be weaker than what was projected by the Treasury in the May 2023 federal budget.?
The “nominal” economy (the dollar value of output – the basis of tax revenues) grew more slowly in the first half of 2023 than was assumed. To achieve the Treasury’s May 2023 budget assumptions, the economy needed to grow by 4.2 per cent in the first six months of 2023. It only grew by 2.7 per cent, largely thanks to the economy contracting by 1.2 per cent in the June quarter after a run of positive results in previous quarters.?
The weaker than expected result was driven by weaker than expected commodity prices, reflecting tighter monetary policy and slower growth in other parts of the world.?
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The UA media team continues to underpin the delivery of policy initiatives with strategic media and communications engagement activities.?
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