Page 2503 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 13 August 2014
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DR BOURKE: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Canberra Liberals need to be asked the question Sarah Ferguson asked Joe Hockey on budget night after throwing the Gonski reforms overboard. Is it liberating for a politician to decide election promises do not matter? Where do the Canberra Liberals stand on Gonski? Is it the deal they backed when Mr Pyne supported Gonski or his position post election when it turned out that he lied?
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (5.11): On the issue of education and training, we now have a portfolio of higher education that is not matched by an output. The interesting thing is where it sits. Is it actually in education? It seems to be more of a business-related approach to higher education, and both are valid, both are reasonable. But unfortunately there are strategic objectives or accountability indicators for the whole notion of higher education contained in this budget.
This came up last year at estimates. It was a brand new portfolio at that stage. There were Chief Minister’s officials there. There was somebody from the department of education there. The Chief Minister said, “This is something that we think is important and that we are working on.” We would concur. But we are not sure what the portfolio does. I think that in something like the budget it would be reasonable to expect this, because across just about every other portfolio or responsibility there are strategic objectives and accountability indicators, but not for higher education. I will say a few words also about regional development, which falls into the same category.
Recommendations 71 and 72 of the estimates committee look at this issue. Recommendation 71 states:
The Committee recommends that the ACT Government establish an output entitled ‘Higher Education’, and develop strategic objectives and accountability indicators for the output.
This is to make sure that whatever it is that the government intends to do in higher education as a portfolio actually happens and that we have got some way of measuring whether or not the government has achieved against its own targets. The government’s response is curious. It says:
Noted.
While policy responsibility for higher education rests with the Commonwealth Government, the ACT Government is committed to supporting growth in the higher education sector and continues to engage closely with the Territory’s tertiary institutions to that effect. Given that the Commonwealth Government is currently considering reforms to the higher education sector and federalism arrangements which may see a shift in roles and responsibilities between Commonwealth and state governments, the ACT Government will develop appropriate strategic objectives and accountability indicators for the higher education portfolio.
It seems to me that we have now established a portfolio. We are not sure what we are going to do in it. We have not got any strategic objectives or accountability indicators, but now the federal government has thrown up this wonderful excuse that they are reviewing higher education; so we will wait until that is done before we then develop appropriate strategic objectives and accountability indicators. It seems a bit strange.
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