We now have an opportunity to reposition higher education for the
future and to move away from tinkering and adjusting rather than
coherently changing. While it will take some time to unstitch the
knotted fabric of accumulated incremental policy shifts of the last
decade and to build up the capacity for creative policy formulation, it
is nevertheless important now to think radically and envisage the
architecture that will best serve Australia over the longer term.
Labor’s concept of mission-driven compacts, complemented by a strategic
approach to the funding of research, based on rigorous evaluation of
performance quality, offers a powerful vehicle for strengthening and
diversifying the higher education sector. We have a responsibility
within the sector to provide leadership to drive this agenda.
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