Labor has bold ambitions for higher education. On coming to office, Education Minister Jason Clare announced a belt-and-braces review of the higher education system by engineer Mary O’Kane.
O’Kane’s report — backed by Clare — eventually recommended a huge expansion of the university sector, aiming to enrol 80% of Australian school leavers in tertiary institutions by 2050. According to its Portfolio Budget Statement, the Department of Education estimates a whopping $240 billion “additional income would be added to the economy over the period to 2050”.
But there’s nothing in the budget to deliver this ambition.
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