The higher education establishment gave evidence to the Senate committee inquiry into the ATEC legislation on Friday.
Luke Sheehy from Universities Australia nailed why they will settle for whatever Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) the Government will give them.
“There is a whole range of things that I think ATEC can do, but the freedom and the long-term vision outside of the political cycle is why we are supportive … if we do not do that free of the political cycle, we end up having universities at the centre of political football,” he said.
Mr Sheehy, with the Group of Eight’s Vicki Thomson, was the strongest critic of the Bill, reiterating extensive concerns that the Commission will not be independent enough. But they were both in line with other witnesses that if the Government will not budge on amendments to secure the Commission’s independence, the Bill should pass.
As Ms Thomson put it, “we will not be better off without an ATEC.”
Senators focused on how ATEC would work, with David Pocock (Ind-ACT) and Mehreen Faruqi (Greens-NSW) also interested in the Job Ready Graduates funding model, which all witnesses agreed the Commission should make the case for killing. And while Senator Faruqi did not appear convinced that ATEC will be adequately independent of the Department of Education, it seems likely that interim chair Barney Glover’s assurance, “this legislation is fit for purpose” will feature in the committee report.
George Williams (Western Sydney U) summed up what the higher education establishment wants ATEC to accomplish – a generational change in the way universities work.
“We are looking at … a fundamental shift from a system driven by intensive competition where marketing budgets, branding, rankings, and the like can rule the day and a system that has too often delivered market failure when it comes to serving the needs that the system must serve, and of course, their students in the community,” Professor Williams said.
“So, we support a ATEC because we think stewardship is needed to assist that transformation.”
There was no dissent, unlike the robust criticism of ATEC when the legislation was debated in the House of Representatives. Shadow Education Minister Julian Leeser called it, “a turgid technocrats' policy that entrenches more bureaucracy.” But conservative critics were absent on Friday – the long-scheduled committee hearing coincided with the Liberal Party leadership vote.
Perhaps it was an omen of apolitical things to come – Mr Sheehy will be pleased.