Subjects: Australian universities; importance of libraries; federal education funding; Prime Minister of Malaysia's remarks.
E&OE..................................
Lieutenant General Gray, Vice Chancellor, Warren Entsch, the Federal Member for Leichhardt, my other Parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
Can I say that I appreciate very much the invitation extended to me today by the University. It affords me an opportunity to pay tribute to the special contribution that the James Cook University is making, not only to the general academic life of Australia, but more broadly to the life and times and future of the community of North Queensland and Far North Queensland
I appreciate the kind words of welcome extended by the Chancellor and I also appreciate the candour with which he has addressed the ongoing debate in our community about the appropriate levels of federal government support for universities. It is not a debate that the Federal Government in any way walks away from. And it's a debate that we in a calm and sensible atmosphere are very happy to engage.
Today is an occasion, of course, to acknowledge the importance of libraries within the life of the university and within the broader teaching mission of governments, universities and schools within the Australian community. Libraries have advanced a long way from my memory of them at the Sydney University Law School, long before, of course, the arrival of the wonders of modern information technology and the ready accessibility compared with those days of resource material. But having had described to me the nature of this particular building and the facilities that it extends to its students, it is in every sense of the word, a state of the art facility which will be of enormous benefit to the students who study both here at Cairns and in the surrounding areas.
Today is an opportunity for me to remark briefly upon a number of Government initiatives of direct importance to this University. One of those has been referred to by the Chancellor and that of course is the establishment of the medical school at the university. And although the main activity is at Townsville there will nonetheless be significant benefits here at Cairns. And I want to pay tribute to the efforts of many people, including Warren Entsch and other members of Parliament, Peter Lindsay, and others, who, over the years, have campaigned very strongly for the provision of this facility. And it was argued at the time that the facility should be supported in a particular way by the Federal Government and also by State Governments and I acknowledge very readily the contribution of the Queensland Government as well to this particular project. It was put on the basis of a special need, not only in the context of this university's juxtaposition to rural and regional Australia, but also the contribution that it might make to the indigenous communities which are a very important part of the life of North and Far North Queensland.
And you will be aware of course that in the 1999 Budget, the Government provided recurrent funding to James Cook University the restored growth of 450 student places at a cost of $21 million over four years and recurrent funding for 60 places for the James Cook University Medical School in Townsville at a cost of $9.8 million and that was supported by an additional $10 million in capital funding from the Health portfolio with matched funding as I acknowledge from the Queensland Government.
And between 1996 and 2002 the Government has allocated substantial capital funding to James Cook University, $20 million for an extensive programme at the Cairns campus including $16.9 million for infrastructure projects and $10.5 million for stage three of the campus which of course incorporates this library. And $3 million will be allocated in 2002 as the Chancellor acknowledged towards the cost of the new Health Sciences and Science complex. And $1.4 million in 1998 to the development of computer network and video conferencing facilities and information technology laboratories.
Now, I acknowledge that in the ongoing debate there will always be differences of view about the adequacy of Federal Government funding for higher education, but I would hope that those details of that commitment is evidence of at least some very tangible response by the Federal Government to the particular needs and the particular position of James Cook University. It is true, as the Chancellor pointed out, that this University does not have the same resource base as some of the older universities in the established capital cities. And that in part was one of the reasons why we responded to the entreaties put to us in relation to the medical school. It is also why, of course, the integration of this University into the life of the local community is more extensive than is the case with the established sandstone universities. And it's been my experience on the many visits that I've paid to both Townsville and Cairns over the years to find a level of involvement and a level of commitment by the local community to the university community far ahead of that which occurs in Sydney or Melbourne or the other capital cities of Australia.
And I want to say to you that that is inevitably and unavoidably the way of the future for all universities in Australia. The idea that we can turn back upon that kind of partnership and go back to some kind of earlier period where universities were separated from the community and the level of involvement between universities and the private sector was kept to a minimum, those days are simply not going to return irrespective of what political attitude or what political philosophy obtains.
The debate in the Australian community and Australian society is about the level of government commitment and the level of involvement of the private sector and of personal contribution to higher education. That debate is very much about quantum, it is not about the principle of whether or not there should be a significant level of private provision and private commitment. I welcome the remarks that have been made by the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor in that context. And it will be a ongoing dialogue between the Federal Government and the universities of Australia, both those in the regions and those within the capital cities.
It goes without saying, of course, that the future of Australia's economic and social development is very tied up with the level of its intellectual capital. It's no exaggeration to say that over the last few years Australia has enjoyed very strong economic conditions. And that is due in no small measure to the fact that we have a well educated, literate, flexible and sophisticated workforce. I will be leaving Cairns in about an hour and a half to go to Korea to pay my first visit to that country as Prime Minister. And it is a reminder to me, of course, that the very important link which is between Australia and the countries of the Asia Pacific Region. And one of the very important contributions that Australia has made to that linkage, of course, has been the contribution over the decades that has been made by the universities of Australia to educating the young men and women of the countries of our region.
And when the Prime Minister of Malaysia was reported in yesterday's press of having made some mildly energetic remarks about me and about the relationship between Australia and Malaysia, I contemplated a response and in my mind I dismissed the first two or three, and then I lighted upon what I though was the appropriate one and one that is very relevant in the context of any political leader addressing a university gathering and that is the fact that over the years Australia has educated something like 130,000 Malaysian young men and women. And the Alumni of Australian universities within the Asian community is very extensive indeed. And that contribution is something that will endure beyond the transitory exchanges that might occur between Prime Ministers of any particular period of time. And it is a reminder of a very important intellectual legacy, it's also a reminder of a very important human legacy and a very important contribution made by the universities of Australia towards the development of close relations between Australia and the people of this region.
Can I again express my gratitude to you, Chancellor and Vice Chancellor. I admire the work of this university, I wish it well. I thank you for your welcome and I have great pleasure of declaring open this beautiful library facility.
Thank you.