Page 1189 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 24 April 1990
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Canberra took place last week on 19 April. This was an event of considerable significance both for the university and for the wider ACT community, and I offer the congratulations of the Government to the university on achieving its new status and role in higher education. This status is a tribute to the reputation of the former Canberra College of Advanced Education and I believe it reflects the general esteem in which it has been held.
The Canberra College of Advanced Education was established in 1969 following the report of the Martin committee on the future of tertiary education in Australia. As a new kind of tertiary institution, it was to provide education with an applied and vocational orientation to supplement the more theoretical work of universities. This it did well over a period of 20 years.
In carrying out this mission, the college made a significant contribution to the Canberra community. Its graduates occupy leadership roles in all sectors of ACT life. The college has served this community very well in meeting the high- level skill needs of the Territory in many areas such as computing, administration and teacher education.
However, the landscape of Australian higher education has now changed following the ending of the binary system of universities and colleges. It is very fitting that the former college should now acquire the status and role of a university. My Government values the contribution that Monash University is making in sponsoring the new university, which is in the best university tradition.
The quality and excellence of higher education in the ACT is one of the major resources of the Territory. The Government believes that there are opportunities in the new situation that now exists to further mutually productive relationships between the work of higher education and the social, economic and cultural advancement of this Territory. The Government for its part stands ready to explore such opportunities, and I shall soon be writing to institutions to raise the question of arrangements for consultations on matters of mutual interest and benefit.
There are key areas where closer relationships between higher education research and industry development can be fostered, for example, in developing an advanced technology strategy for the Territory. A well-articulated ACT higher education policy developed through consultation and discussion can offer much, both to our educational institutions and to the Territory at large. I am confident, Mr Speaker, and I am reassured, that the university recognises its role in this community from statements made at the inauguration ceremony by both the vice-chancellor and the chancellor. The inauguration ceremony itself was an outstanding success and augurs well for the university's future.
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