SECOND READING SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER ( MR. MENZIES)
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
STATES GRANTS ( UNIVERSITIES BILL), I960
I. INTRODUCTORY
In April 1958, I had the privilege of presenting to the House
a Bill to give effect to the proposals of the Committee on Australian
Universities, which met in 1957 with Sir Keith Murray as Chairman.
This Bill sought Parliamentary approval for the proposals of the Murray
Committee for the triennium 1958/ 60.
Once again it is my pleasant lot to introduce a Bill on universities,
this time to give effect to the proposals of the Australian
Universities Commission for the coming triennium, 1961/ 63.
The Commission is the permanent successor to the Murray Committee.
Honourable Members will recall that the Murray Committee recommended that the
Commonwealth Government should have available to it continuous advice on
the financial requirements of the universities if the universities are to
develop rationally and coherently, and urged the appointment of a
permanent Commission for this purpose. Parliament agreed to the
establishment of the Universities Commission in 1959. The Commission
consists of persons of eminence in university and business circles, and
since its establishment last year it has exhaustively studied the problems
of our universities and has brought forward recommendations on a wide range
of matters. It has done this after taking into consideration all possible
courses of action and after the fullest consultation with Commonwealth and
State authorities and with all universities. The first report of the
Commission, which presents the recommendations and the comments of the
Commission upon present and future university problems, was tabled in
the House on Thursday
0 2.
It is relevant in considering the report and the Bill to recall
the functions of the Commission as defined in the Universities Commission
Act of 1959. Under Clause 13 the Commission is to furnish information
and advice on grants by the Commonwealth of financial assistance to
universities established by the Commonwealth, and of financial assistance
to the States in relation to universities, together with information and
advice that is relevant to the need for financial assistance, the conditions
upon which any financial assistance should be granted, and the amount
and the allocation of financial assistance.
These functions are important, providdng as they do for a financial
future for our universities that has a great measure of stability. However,
the next section, Section 14, of the Act places an obligation upon the
Commission that is to my mind of even greater importance. The section
states: The Commission shall perform its functions with a view to
promoting the balanced development of universities so that
their resources can be used to the greatest possible
advantage of Australia.
( ii) For the purpose of the performance of its functions, the
Commission shall consult with universities and with the States
upon the matter on which it is empowered to furnish
information and advice.
The Commission has, therefore, addressed itself in its report
not only to the financial problems involved but also to the present state
and the future role to be played by the institutions of this country
providing services at the tertiary level of our educational system.
II. SOME MAJOR POINTS IN THE COMMISSION'S REPORT
Honourable Members have had the opportunity of studying the
Commission's report. Of the many important questions raised, there are
five which would seem to lay claim to special comment.
First, there is the influence of demographic factors.
Chapter 2 of the Commission's report presents estimates
of the likely increase in student enrolments at universities.
In 1958 some 42,000 students were enrolled
at universities, and universities now predict that by 1966
0 3.
the number will have risen to 95,000. These figures are
considerably in excess of the estimates made by the Murray
Committee on the evidence then available to it. If this
estimate is realised, the ratio of students enrolled at
universities to the total population will be approaching
one in a hundred. This, of course, has enormous consequences
in terms of the pressure on facilities, demands for staff
and the need for more universities and university-type
institutions.
As a result of these demographic changes leading to a great
bulge in the relevant age groups, there is obviously a quite explosive
development taking place in universities. The achievement in
recent years has been a very remarkable one, but the Commission
has had to report that the changing age structure of our
population and other factors have meant that, in spite of the
greatly increased governmental assistance since the recommendations
of the Murray Committee were accepted, many of our university facilities
are still below a satisfactory standard.
After a review of the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme, the
Commission supports the need for an increase in the number of
scholarships from 3,000 to 4,000 a year.
( ii) Pressure on Staff and Facilities. Chapter 111 of the report
deals with. staff. * In spite of very considerabie staff'tecruitment
in recent years, the number of students in relation to the number
of staff is increasing and the position in Australia compares
unfavourably with that in the United Kingdom. The Commission
estimates that by 1966 the number of staff will need to be more
than doubled to keep pace with the increased number of students.
As to facilities, the Commission in Chapter 6 points out that if
the enrolment demand is to be met in terms of the existing
university pattern the Australian community must create in every
two years the equivalent of at least one new university of 8,000
students.
The Commission has pointed out that there will not only be this
tremendously increased demand for suitable academic staff but that
we will have to rely largely upon our own resources to meet this
demand.
It will become increasingly difficult to tap resources in
overseas countries, since they themselves will be under pressure
for reasons very much the same as those affecting the Australian
situation. The Commission suggests some of the questions which
must be considered and says " The issues raised in these questions
are of great concern to Australian universities, faced as they are
with staffing problems not likely to be solved unless far-reaching
changes in the form of university education and teaching methods
can be achieved."
( iii) I turn now to the financial recommendations contained in the report,
and to which the Bill before the House gives effect. The Commission
recommends that a total of œ 103m should be made available to State
universities in the coming three years. This compares with a total
expenditure of some œ 55m in the last three years. The Commission
is satisfied that financial provision of this order is necessary
for the balanced development of Australian universities in this period.
The Commission's report indicates that the sharp increase in expenditure
required over the coming triennium is the result of several factors,
notably the large increase in the number of students. The report
also shows that a great deal of the increased expenditure is due
to the establishment of Monash University, the extension of the
universities in New South Wales and the establishment of colleges
at Wollongong and Townsville. By contrast the Universities
Commission proposes that the development of the well-established
universities should be limited in order to keep their size within
reasonable bounds and suggests for them a programme which is in
effect a normal projection on previous expenditure. Taking into
account the increased student population and the need for providing
new facilities, it is clear, therefore, that the large upsurge in
suggested expenditure is due principally to new university development
of a kind which has been foreseen and recognised as inevitable
for some time.
( iv) The Basis of the Proposed Financial Arrangements:
The Commission's proposals rest on the principle that the existing
ratio of approximately œ 1.85 ( State) to œ 1 ( Commonwealth) for
recurrent expenditure should be maintained and that the basis of
œ 1 for œ 1 on capital expenditure should be applied uniformly as
between States and as between universities. However, having in
mind its obligations for influencing the balanced development of
Australian universities, the Commission has examined separately the
factors which are determining the growth of each university.
The University of New South Wales, the University of Queensland
and the University of Western Australia are expected to
experience a more rapid growth of student population than other
universities. The Commission's proposals are therefore adjusted
to meet the individual needs of universities in the light of the
pressures upon each of them.
Another consideration in the Commission's assessment of the future
situation is its belief that any university should not exceed
a certain size if it is to function effectively.
The Commission has drawn particular attention to its proposals
to bring the treatment of the University of New South Wales and
the University of New England into line with that accorded to
other universities. The ways in which its proposals differ from
the pattern of previous arrangements are described in the report.
The Commission also refers at various places in its report to the
desirability of a greater flexibility than has previously applied
in the distribution of Commonwealth financial assistance for capital
projects, including expenditure on capital equipment and on
residential colleges and halls of residence. I shall refer in
particular to some of these matters later on when I turn to an
examination of the Bill in more detail.
The Problems of Universities and the Pattern of Development
of Tertiary Education:
The University Commission has shown at various places in its
report a full awareness of the problems of university development.
In dealing with staff recruitment in Chapter 3, the Commission
has expressed itself as doubtful that any answer could be found
in traditional terms, and in Chapter 6 it ranges over a number of
possible changes that need to be considered by Governments and
universities. The Commission proposes to make a special
examination in the period immediately ahead into these matters
and has suggested that it may seek to establish an advisory
committee to assist it in its enquiries.
6.
111. IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION'S
PROPOSALS FOR GOVERNMENT. S AND UNIVERSITIES
COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT
The. Commonwealth Government has examined the report and is
prepared to accept its recommendationts in general. The Bill now before
the House indicates its acceptance of the many financial recommendations
for State Universities.
This is not to say that the Commonwealth accepts every statement
in the report, some of which will no doubt also be discussed inside and
outside this Parliament. But by and large the Government feels that the
Commission's analysis of the situation and its proposals are receiving
a large degree of acceptance in Commonwealth and State Government circles,
among the universities and by the community in general. The Bill for
increased expenditure is, of course, a very large one, and meeting it,
having in mind also what lies ahead after this triennium, raises many
problems in our minds.
After carefully studying the report of the Commission, the
Government has taken the viewwhich it believes the Commission holds also,
that unless there is early and substantial modification of the university
pattern, away from the traditional 19th century model on which it is now
based, it may not be practicable for Australian Governments to meet all
the needs for university education in Australia, and at the same time to
achieve the best use of resources in the national interest. We think,
therefore, that the development of alternative kinds of tertiary education
is likely to be of the greatest importance. In view, also, of the
difficulties which may be encountered in finding sufficient staff for
tertiary educational needs and for developing the facilities in time. the
situation may well call for extensive re-organisation within the universities.
The Commission' s report has referred to some of the possible
ways of doing this. As the Commission points out, other countries are
facing similar problems and are finding that new and unusual methods for
solving them are becoming necessary. In the period ahead thought may well
have to be given to re-arrangement of the university working year, re-arrangements
to produce a greater use of existing facilities within the university, to
standards of teaching staff and the most effective employment of our
university teaching resources. Building programmes of universities will
need to be kept under very close scrutiny in order to ensure that they
are sufficiently restrained as to economy and directly related to need.
The Government therefore welcomes the proposal of the Commission
to undertake an early examination of these matters and has informed the
Commission that it regards this examination as a task of the most vital
importance during the next 12 to 18 months. . To assist the Commission
directly in its task the Government has agreed with the suggestion of the
Commission that it might establish an advisory committee. No doubt the
Commission will pursue its investigation in close co-operation with Governmental
authorities both State and Commonwealth and with universities, and
I have informed the States that the Commission will be looking to them for
co-operation and assistance.
STATES I have sent copies * of the report to the Premiers, and informed
them of the Commonwealth views on it.
Of course we fully recognise and respect the prime responsibility
which the States have for determining the rate of development of their
universities. As we see the role of the Universities Commission, it.~ is a
so urce of advice and of advice only to Commonwealth and State Governments
and to universities. Its authority lies not in coercion but in persuasion.
Under the Commission's proposals it is the States who determine what the
level of expenditure should be on both capital and recurrent sides. On
the capital side the basis proposed is a œ 1l for and on the recurrent
side it is perhaps worth noting that the proposed first level grants are no
greater than the level of actual expenditure upon recurrent needs in 1960
and the States should hot therefore encounter any difficulty in attracting
the maximum first level Commonwealth grant, as they will get it by merely
continuing to support universities as they did in 1960.
It is of course quite open to the States and the universities
to hold opinions differing from those of the Universities Commission on the
rate of development which is desirable and practicable.
( iii ) UNIVERSITIES The achievement in university development, especially since the
acceptance of the recommendations of the Murray Committee has been
spectacular, but the problems which lie ahead are obviously even greater.
We feel that they cannot simply be solved by providing money and that univer-'
sities must critically examine their procedures and problems in order
to ensure that the funds which are provided are used as effectively and
as economically as possible. Quite apart fz'om the question of developing
alternative institutions there are many matters which lie within the province
of universities. I have already mentioned a number of these building
programmes, recruitment of staff and possible forms of internal re-organisation.
We recognise the great problems which universities face in coping with the
large increase in student numbers. Nevertheless universities must cotitinue
I to set as their aims the improvement in teaching and student achievement;
better training for research workers, significant research contributions
in widening fields of study, and intellectual leadership in the community.
( iv) THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE
The Commission's report points out that the Australian community
has always regarded higher education as a right open to all young people of
ability, rather than as a privilege of wealth or class. In this connection,
the Commission raises a very real problem Ahether the community of itself
realises the magnitude of its educational responsibilities if this aspiration
is to be achieved. It is a regrettable feature of the present times that universities
like many other institutions must depend most heavily upon the Governments
for their finances. This, no doubt, is an inevitable trend arising to a great
extent from the very high costs of tertiary education to-day. Nevertheless,
private benefactions will, I hope, always be a feature of our universities, and
in recent years there have been some notable contributions in this direction:-
more is needed. IV. OTHER MATTERS
In accepting-the recommendations of the Commission-in general the
Government has agreed to proposals which do not need to be embodied in the
Bill now before the House. These include the recommendation of the
Commiission on Commonwealth scholarships.
In the case of the Australian National University the financial
responsibility. of course, rests entirely upon the Commonwealth. The rate of
development of the Australian National University must be related in some
degree to the development of Canberra. The Government has accepted in
principle the recommendations of the Commission as to the but the
proposals will need to be the subject of further careful investigation, especially
on timing, before they are put into effect. Meanwhile, it is proposed to
take immediate action to begin the construction of the Chemistry School
building for the School of General Studies at the A. N. U.
9.
MAIN PROVISIONS OF THE BILL
In the main, the Bill before the House establishes Commonwealth-
State financial machinery whereby the recommendations of the Commission
may be put into effect. The Bill contains a number of features not
present in its predecessor, the 1958 Act. There is, for instance, no
provision in this Bill for emergency grants, since those in effect have
been absorbed into the general grants for recurrent expenditure which the
Bill makes provision for in a number of schedules.
The Bill adds a new concept to the existing definition of university
purposes. In order that the Commission may be able to provide for the
staff at a new university, such as Monash, the Bill makes possible payment
of recurrent grants to a university which may of necessity appoint its
staff for planning purposes, but which is not in effect offering a teaching
or research service.
The Bill goes on to establish machinery provisions and at
Section 6 gives the basis on which the salary element in recurrent grants
has been calculated for the purposes of Commonwealth financial assistance.
It states that the schedules have been based on a basic professorial salary
at the rate of œ 4,000 per annum, which was the salary applying in a majority
of Australian universities on the date the Commission reported. The Bill
goes on to provide that the Minister may by an instrument under his hand
approve an increased rate of professorial salary for the purpose of Commonwealth
assistance. A copy of any such instrument will be sent to the
Premier of each State affected by the instrument and will be laid before
this House. The Bill provides that if a University pays basic professorial
salaries in excess of this level the Commonwealth shall not be responsible
for the increased costs involved. I must stress at this point that the
Commonwealth has neither the desire nor an intention to fix professorial
salaries. Any State Government is completely free to support whatever
salaries it deems appropriate in the Universities of that State.
As far as grants for the purposes of capital works within the
universities are concerned, the Bill in general carries on the arrangements
which have proved so successful in the last triennium. There is, however,
f
a departure in Section 8 of the Bill, which puts into effect the recommendations
of the Universities Commission as they relate to special grants for
equipment. In summary form the Commonwealth will make available œ 250,000
on a pound for pound basis with the States for the purchase of special
equipment, and is prepared to see this sum disbursed in the proportions given
in the Third Schedule to the Act. Under this Bill the Commonwealth will
make available a further œ 250,000 on a pound for pound basis which will be
disbursed on the advice of the Commission and therefore not necessarily
in the same proportions as the first œ 250,000. The purpose is to allow
flexibility so that the Commission may, with the co-operation of the States,
assist with the purchase of special equipment for research and other
purposes. The Bill provides grants to affiliated residential colleges under
two headings. It incorporates a formula which will enable assistance to
be given to residential colleges for recurrent expenditure, including tutorial
assistance, in accordance with the number of students receiving services
such as these from the college. It also provides that buildings for residential
college purposes may be assisted on a pound for pound basis. It is the
hope of the Commission and the hope of the Government that these forms of
assistance will give the present residential colleges and those to come a
greater opportunity for giving a service to the students within the universities.
Assistance is also proposed in the Bill for halls of residence
administered by the universities. VI. CONCLUSIONS
The Bill before the House carries on and develops the work which
the 1958 Act initiated. It is based on the firm belief that the development
of our intellectual power and knowledge is vital to our future. We are a
small nation of ten million people and we cannot escape meeting the rest of
the world in competition. I am not willing to sit back and see Australia
lag behind by omission. We must match the world in scholarship, in
technology and trade. Our efforts are not without great merit. If it were
not for the financial backing which we and the States have provided there
would not be a Monash University or a University of New South Wales, and
other university institutions would be in a deplorable condition. The
programme is a large one. The expenditure involved is largely inescapable.
However, it is not merely money involved but a question of national responsibility.
Because of this the whole situation calls for continuing and
special examination by all Governments and all universities and by the
community in general.
Canberra, 22nd November, 1960.