b'Canberra observed and promised more effort to boostpandemic international educationinvestment, as a proportion of GDP, the proportion of students fromgenerated $40 billion per year in exportdeclined from 2.5% in 2008-09 to 1.8% disadvantaged backgrounds. He alsoincome. Now due to the downturn it iswhen the last figures were collected wants to speed up visa processing to$22 billion, but international educationin 2020.help rebuild Australias education exportremains our largest services export industry, and wants Labors Septemberindustry and our fifth-largest exportAt present, Australia spends $35.9 billion jobs summit to discuss how to retainindustry overall. on all types of research, but only $2.83 foreign students after they completebillion on basic research. Without basic their degrees, in order to enlargeEmployers depend heavily onresearch, we would reduce the supply of Australias skilled workforce. universities, not just to providenew ideas to translate into new products, graduates with job-ready skills, but forapplications and services. This makes us Clare also announced an independenttheir broad conceptual skills as well.dependent on others to supply those inquiry into the role and function ofWhether their new employees haveideas. Thats not a place where Australia the Australian Research Council, whichstudied engineering, science, the law,should be.administers the national research grantsor the liberal arts, employers value their programme. There has been a recentcapacity to think broadly and creatively,The arguments have been made, we history of delays in awarding the grantsAnd they tell us this all the time. need to invest in universities, and we and political interference. He wants theseneed to do it now!trends to end. To get a good job these days in Clare also said he would appointthe major areas of jobs growth youMining industry powers aheada group of eminent Australians towill need a university or vocational lead Labors planned Australianqualification. Consequently, moreThe latest information on the annual Universities Accord. This accordpeople are graduating with a bachelorsestimates of key economic and would draw on university staff,degree or above than ever before,financial performance of industries in unions, businesses, students, parentsparticularly women: We need toAustralia, released by the Australian and all political parties, and lookensure that supply of university placesBureau of Statistics, in May 2022 for at everything from funding andkeeps up. We cant let these youngthe year 2020-2021 (https://www.abs.access to affordability, transparency,people down and rob them of theirgov.au/statistics/industry/industry-regulation, and employmentaspirations. overview/australian-industry/2020-21) conditions. showed how the mining sector Last year, a significant milestone wasis powering ahead as the largest reached. 50.3% of all young womenand most effective of all Australian What would Universities Australia like fromaged 25 to 34 now hold a bachelorsindustries analysed. Table1 shows the the government? degree or higher. Thats up from justresults obtained by the ABS for 2019-26% in 2001- almost a doubling in just2021.On the same day that Minister Clare20 years.was speaking to the universities,The value of the mining industry has Professor John Dewar, the Chair ofAnother crucial priority for ourmore than doubled over the last four Universities Australia (UA), was speakingcountry is producing the ideas andyears and the number of employees has at the National Press Club. He arguedthe products of the future fromonly increased by about 11%. We really that universities make essentialour research programme. On theshould cherish the wealth this industry contributions throughout Australia, andworld stage, Australia is lagging andprovides the nation.we should ensure they are healthy anddropping further behind. Leading effective: The fact is, the importanceinnovation nations now investYou must read the ABS release to obtain of universities is going to continue tosignificant proportions of their Grossinformation on how the value was increase. Especially their economicDomestic Product (GDP) in R&D. Forcalculated.importance. example, Israel 5.1%, South Korea 4.6%, and the USA 3.2%. Across theTable 2 shows the results for 2017- 2019. In their submission to the ProductivityOECD that figure is going up. But inEarlier results can be obtained from the Commissions inquiry earlier this year, UAAustralia, its going down. Overall R&DABS website.demonstrated that:For every dollar we invest in university teaching, we get three dollars back andTable 1.Employment numbers and value of Australian industries for every dollar we invest in university2017-2019.The employment numbers are estimates for 30 June for research, we get five dollars back. each financial year.Furthermore, if we could lift our investment in higher education researchANZSIC division Employment Valueand development by just one per cent,2017-18 2018-19 2017-18 2018-19we could lift productivity and increase the size of Australias economy by 28000 000 $m $mbillion dollars over ten years. Agriculture 459 451 20 578 19 580Mining 169 179 104 879 138 625Universities support more than 250 000 jobs every year. Before the COVIDManufacturing 840 854 36 951 40 297AUGUST 2022 PREVIEW 28'