b'Canberra observed Canberra observedand territories to finalise the first stepscontribution will increase from $11 355 of the continuing programme. Australiato $14 500. See https://www.dese.gov.will continue for many years to generateau/system/files/doc/other/job_ready_wealth from its mineral and petroleumgraduates_discussion_paper_0.pdf for resources, and this investment will bemore details.money well spent. These changes are good for the STEM According to the Ministers media release,subjects, but how the proposed changes ACIL Allen Consulting conducted a returnwill reduce complexity and produce on investment analysis of three key EFTFjob-ready graduates is uncertain. The activities. It concluded that the totalgovernment is trying to pick winners, potential benefits flowing from theseand also trying to turn universities into activities could be between $446 milliontraining grounds for specific jobs, rather David Denham AMand $2.5 billion. The analysis, Exploring forthan providing students with a broad Associate Editor for Governmentthe Future ProgramReturn on Investmenteducation and opportunities to follow denham1@iinet.net.au (24 December 2019), is available in full at:their interests, carry out research and be https://www.acilallen.com.au/projects/ adaptable in a rapidly changing world. program-evaluation/exploring-for-the- As we know, many graduates change future-program-return-on-investment- careers, and very few continue to practise The good, the not-soanalysis. Should be worth a read ifthe skills they learnt from their university good, the bad and theanyone needs to argue for the benefits ofcourses. Better to broaden the education publicly funded strategic research. base rather than focus on narrow skills.very bad Anyway, student fees for humanities will The not-so good: Job-readyeffectively be doubled (from $6804 to For this issue I have selected items thatgraduates $14 500) and the total Commonwealth are good, not so good, bad and very bad.allocation for universities will be cut. You may not agree with my views, butOn 19 June 2020, Dan Tehan, the MinisterIan Jacobs, the Vice Chancellor of the it shows the range of issues that makefor Education, announced the Job-readyUniversity of New South Wales, did not the news. And I am not going to includeGraduates Package. According to themince his words when he said, that the COVID-19! Minister: proposed 113% increase in student fees for communications and humanities was The package focuses the publicastonishing and he worried that these The good: Government strengthensinvestment in higher education onincreases will deter talented students resources exploration national priorities and ensures theand create extra stress for current year On 23 June 2020 Keith Pitt the Minister forsystem delivers for students, industry12 students.Resources, Water and Northern Australiaand the community. The economy is changing and there is a need to increaseTwo other consequences worth Minister announced that the Governmentthe level of support going to fields ofmentioning. The first is that the legal will invest a further $125 million over fourstudy that will contribute to nationalprofession will continue to be the realm years on Geoscience Australias Exploringpriorities and future prosperity. of the wealthy, and the second is that it for the Future (EFTF) programme. EFTF isappears to discriminate against women. an Australian Government programme,The changes aim to deliver more job- According to an analysis of education led by Geoscience Australia, dedicated toready graduates in the disciplines anddepartment data from 2018 (Daniel Hurst, encouraging exploration for mineral andregions where they are needed mostThe Guardian 27 June 2020), while women petroleum resources and to improving theand help drive the nations economicmake up about 58% of domestic bachelor management of ground water and ourrecovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. students across the board, they represent rural resources. This investment comes onAre universities seen as just trainingabout 67% students in these heavily the back of the $100 million committed inplaces for industry? And is that whyaffected fields of humanities, social 2016 to provide new (mainly geophysical)they did not qualify for the Job-Keepersciences, media and communications.data sets over northern Australia. programme? As the world becomes more complex, I The data sets from the first four yearswould have thought that the humanities were collected over three million km2The bottom line is that for scienceand those areas that deal with human of northern Australia. They are availableand engineering, the Commonwealthand cross-cultural issues will become through a portal that can be foundcontribution will change from $19 260more important. These areas should not at ga.gov.au/eftf. Thirteen companiesto $16 500 per annum, and the studentbe downgraded, and in any case those have already taken up new explorationcontribution will change from $9698 towith arts/humanities degrees are more tenements in areas on which the$7700. The numbers for maths are $11successful at getting jobs after graduating.programme focused. 015 to $13 500 for the Commonwealth contributions and $9698 to $3700 forThe next step will be for these changes to The newly allocated funds are likely to bethe students. For law and economics,be approved by the Parliament. It will be invested outside the northern Australia.the Commonwealth contribution will fallinteresting to see what the Senate makes Discussions are taking place with statesfrom $2237 to $1100 and the studentof these new proposals.AUGUST 2020 PREVIEW 24'