Latest news with #Coalition
Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘A kind of monster': Why does everyone hate universities?
In the lead-up to the federal election, university administrators were chilled by the messages they were hearing from the conservative side of politics: that research was an indulgence, that academics should just focus on teaching, and – a comment said to have been addressed to post-doctoral candidates – that a PhD didn't necessarily confer expertise. 'The hostility was so great,' said one senior administrator. But if they had hoped for a warm embrace from Labor, they haven't got it. The much-hyped University Accord has fizzled. The hikes to humanities fees have not been rolled back. The main funders of research, international students, have been in the government's sights. 'Labor in the last term of government was hostile, too,' said the administrator. 'Not as hostile as the Coalition, but they were hostile.' Universities, it seems, have no friends. Not the government, which sees no votes in tertiary education and seems unwilling to waste political capital on serious reform. Not the Coalition, which uses them as fuel for its culture wars, dismisses their management as overpaid fat cats, and, during the Morrison-Dutton era, seemed to confect a Marx-style class war between the 'quiet [presumably uneducated] Australians' and the intellectual 'elites'. But universities' traditional friends have turned on them too. Tertiary unions are furious about chronic staff underpayment. Academics are leaving, exhausted by stifling workloads and casualised jobs. Students are unhappy; they're paying through the nose for an insipid version of the rich experience their parents enjoyed. Loading We're so busy beating up universities that we forget what a disastrous own goal we're kicking as we do it. The accord was plain about what will happen if Australia doesn't have a healthy tertiary education system – we will not have the skills we need, our economy will suffer, and we will stifle the potential of our children. We need high-quality research too, to keep up with the rest of the world and to protect our sovereign interest. The unis don't deserve all that hate. While they are certainly not helping themselves, they're not the ones who caused the mess, and they're going to need some friends, somewhere, to help them out of it. Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner, who drove the development of cultural and media studies in Australia, has laid out the dire state of the sector in his new book, Broken: Universities, Politics and the Public Good (to be released on Tuesday). 'I think it is reaching crisis point,' he said. 'It's really affecting the knowledge infrastructure that's available in this country.'
The Age
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Age
‘A kind of monster': Why does everyone hate universities?
In the lead-up to the federal election, university administrators were chilled by the messages they were hearing from the conservative side of politics: that research was an indulgence, that academics should just focus on teaching, and – a comment said to have been addressed to post-doctoral candidates – that a PhD didn't necessarily confer expertise. 'The hostility was so great,' said one senior administrator. But if they had hoped for a warm embrace from Labor, they haven't got it. The much-hyped University Accord has fizzled. The hikes to humanities fees have not been rolled back. The main funders of research, international students, have been in the government's sights. 'Labor in the last term of government was hostile, too,' said the administrator. 'Not as hostile as the Coalition, but they were hostile.' Universities, it seems, have no friends. Not the government, which sees no votes in tertiary education and seems unwilling to waste political capital on serious reform. Not the Coalition, which uses them as fuel for its culture wars, dismisses their management as overpaid fat cats, and, during the Morrison-Dutton era, seemed to confect a Marx-style class war between the 'quiet [presumably uneducated] Australians' and the intellectual 'elites'. But universities' traditional friends have turned on them too. Tertiary unions are furious about chronic staff underpayment. Academics are leaving, exhausted by stifling workloads and casualised jobs. Students are unhappy; they're paying through the nose for an insipid version of the rich experience their parents enjoyed. Loading We're so busy beating up universities that we forget what a disastrous own goal we're kicking as we do it. The accord was plain about what will happen if Australia doesn't have a healthy tertiary education system – we will not have the skills we need, our economy will suffer, and we will stifle the potential of our children. We need high-quality research too, to keep up with the rest of the world and to protect our sovereign interest. The unis don't deserve all that hate. While they are certainly not helping themselves, they're not the ones who caused the mess, and they're going to need some friends, somewhere, to help them out of it. Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner, who drove the development of cultural and media studies in Australia, has laid out the dire state of the sector in his new book, Broken: Universities, Politics and the Public Good (to be released on Tuesday). 'I think it is reaching crisis point,' he said. 'It's really affecting the knowledge infrastructure that's available in this country.'
Sydney Morning Herald
21 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Trashing our economy': Tehan maintains rage over Labor's green agenda
Dan Tehan, the new opposition spokesman for energy, is determined to continue Peter Dutton's attacks on the Albanese government's vision for a vast expansion of renewable energy, warning it will trash the economy and hurt homes and businesses. Tehan has signalled the Sussan Ley-led opposition will pressure Labor over the cost and risks of its plan for a grid almost entirely powered by renewables. 'They're happy to trash our economy, trash our energy security, put enormous pressure on households while they're seeking to achieve this target,' Tehan said, in referencing years of rising power bills under the Albanese government. Voters decisively rejecting the Coalition's plan to slow the rollout of wind and solar farms in favour of building state-owned nuclear power stations and Tehan's job in reshaping energy policy will not be made any easier by the Nationals. Loading The junior Coalition partner has kicked off its own internal review of the nation's net zero by 2050 target, pushed by noted critic of the policy Matt Canavan. Australia's commitment to net zero has been contentious for the conservative parties since the Abbott government signed Australia up to the Paris Agreement in 2015. The goal is a centrepiece of the deal agreed to by 195 countries. It aims to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and limit the worst impacts of climate change. The Dutton Coalition remained committed to the goal at the past election, fearing a voter backlash. But speculation is mounting that the Nationals party room will vote to ditch net zero, and in doing so embolden right-wing Liberal MPs to call for their party to follow suit.
The Age
21 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
‘Trashing our economy': Tehan maintains rage over Labor's green agenda
Dan Tehan, the new opposition spokesman for energy, is determined to continue Peter Dutton's attacks on the Albanese government's vision for a vast expansion of renewable energy, warning it will trash the economy and hurt homes and businesses. Tehan has signalled the Sussan Ley-led opposition will pressure Labor over the cost and risks of its plan for a grid almost entirely powered by renewables. 'They're happy to trash our economy, trash our energy security, put enormous pressure on households while they're seeking to achieve this target,' Tehan said, in referencing years of rising power bills under the Albanese government. Voters decisively rejecting the Coalition's plan to slow the rollout of wind and solar farms in favour of building state-owned nuclear power stations and Tehan's job in reshaping energy policy will not be made any easier by the Nationals. Loading The junior Coalition partner has kicked off its own internal review of the nation's net zero by 2050 target, pushed by noted critic of the policy Matt Canavan. Australia's commitment to net zero has been contentious for the conservative parties since the Abbott government signed Australia up to the Paris Agreement in 2015. The goal is a centrepiece of the deal agreed to by 195 countries. It aims to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and limit the worst impacts of climate change. The Dutton Coalition remained committed to the goal at the past election, fearing a voter backlash. But speculation is mounting that the Nationals party room will vote to ditch net zero, and in doing so embolden right-wing Liberal MPs to call for their party to follow suit.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman says AI Minister would free teachers, nurses from ‘mundane tasks'
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman says an Australia-first Minister for Artificial Intelligence would free teachers and nurses from 'mundane tasks', as the Coalition twists the knife on Labor over AI and housing. The Liberal leader made his pitch for an AI-driven solution to NSW's productivity crisis during a scathing budget reply speech on Thursday. Mr Speakman said a Coalition government would establish a Minister for AI and an AI action plan, as well as low-interest 'AI for Biz' loans for small and medium-sized business looking to introduce 'responsible AI'. In an exclusive interview, Mr Speakman shed new light on the potential remit of the Australian-first minister, which he said would engage with the private sector to ensure the public service was 'using AI as much as possible'. 'It can relieve our teachers, our nurses, a whole lot of public sector workers of mundane tasks, improve productivity, and drive every tax dollar further,' he said. 'At a time when we've all got a cost-of-living crisis, we want to see our taxpayer dollars go as far as possible, and we think that (AI) is a great way to drive it. 'Every technological change has increased living standards and I want Australia and NSW to be leaders of that, not followers.' If established, the new ministry would be an Australian-first and joins only a small handful of countries that have similar AI-specific government roles, including Canada, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan. Asked about fears AI might take jobs, Mr Speakman recalled the anti-technology 19th century Luddites, who 'threw their shoes in machines'. 'Every time you've had major technological change in the history of humankind that's been a fear,' Mr Speakman said of job losses. 'Across the economy, it'll be impacted (by AI) but I think you'll end up with more jobs, not fewer. 'There'll be very different jobs and more productive jobs and ultimately higher living standards.' Mr Speakman said that there may be 'different jobs' with AI, but that it 'doesn't take them away', and that the AI Minister would be responsible for re-skilling. While increasingly commonplace, AI remains a controversial topic in many workplaces. Public Service Association Assistant General Secretary Troy Wright said AI had 'thus far failed because it lacks the empathy of a human' in public facing role trials. 'We need to think twice before we set AI loose in the public sector because we store a lot of the public's confidential and personal information and keeping that secure must be our number one priority,' he said. 'We do agree about the need to closely monitor the use of AI in the public sector and will be consulting with the Minns Government on their approach so the public can rest assured both that their personal information is safe and they have timely access to the frontline services they're entitled to.' Housing the 'biggest issue in town' It comes as the Coalition twists the knife on Labor following its third budget under Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, and less than two years out from the next state election. Mr Speakman has accused Labor of not doing enough on cost of living, and has pledged to reinstate the Full Active Kids Program, establish a 'fairer' payroll tax scheme for small businesses, as well as preventive health hubs, expanded telehealth, and prioritising emergency care. But, it was housing that Mr Speakman was the 'biggest issue in town'. He claimed the budget showed Labor would fall 137,000 homes short of the National Housing Accord target. 'Ultimately, the price of anything, whether you're a rent or buy, is a product of supply and demand,' he said. 'But, the government is failing to get the number of home completions we need to ramp up supply to make our homes affordable.' Mr Speakman called for government to address the 'biggest obstacles', namely taxes and charges on developers, as well as critical adjoining infrastructure. He said a Coalition government would reintroduce the First Homebuyers Choice Program and exempting stamp duty for eligible older Australians looking to downsize. It comes as NSW Premier Chris Minns remains mum on the state government's so-called 'Plan B' for housing close to the city after the failure of the Rosehill purchase. Members of the Australian Turf Club last month voted to reject a $5bn deal for the historic racecourse, which would have paved the way for 25,000 new homes. Asked about whether the Coalition had its own 'Plan B', Mr Speakman said to 'wait and see' and highlighted the party's own 2022 plan for Rosehill. The Labor government announced a range of housing measures in the 2025-26 budget, including that the state will go guarantor for developers on some 5000 homes.
