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13 October 2001
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THE NATION
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Academics agree with Murdoch
By Rebecca DiGirolamo and Thea Williams
October 13, 2001
RUPERT Murdoch's call for greater public spending on education has buoyed the nation's academic sector, while leaving some wondering how they could be so lucky.
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"I listened to the TV presentation of your lecture last night with great pleasure and a degree of incredulity. I do not believe you will ever make a more important speech from Australia's viewpoint," a North Queensland academic emailed Mr Murdoch via The Australian's website.
Mr Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, publisher of The Weekend Australian, told a Melbourne business audience on Thursday night that Australia risked global irrelevance unless it made an urgent investment in education. His address in support of public education coincided with a similar call from Business Council of Australia president John Schubert.
The federal Government immediately went on the defensive about its university funding.
But the carefully researched views of Mr Murdoch and Dr Schubert received a big tick from academics and students.
"It is rare for the National Union of Students to agree with Rupert Murdoch and the Business Council of Australia on anything, but we can agree on one thing – that Australian universities are in serious trouble," NUS president David Henderson said.
John Byron, president of the Council of Postgraduate Associations, said he hoped Mr Murdoch's call would encourage the Government to realise the "folly of its mean and short-sighted policies of deregulation and disinvestment".
Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee president Ian Chubb said: "I was really pleasantly surprised by Mr Murdoch's comments. They're certainly very hopeful.
"It's entirely appropriate for governments to produce a surplus to spend on the public infrastructure, not just to get ever bigger surpluses."
Mr Murdoch's comments provided a springboard for yesterday's launch by the National Tertiary Education Union of its federal election campaign in 15 marginal seats.
NTEU president Carolyn Allport said the union thanked Mr Murdoch for highlighting education as "more powerful than dropping bombs".
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