Let me welcome our latest ‘conservative’ blogger, Alan Anderson,in the traditional fashion, by slamming one of his posts. Alan writes:

“At last! A Higher Education Minister who is prepared to point out the stupidity of a small country having a dozen universities doing the same thing. A bit of specialisation would drive our education dollars a lot further. ”

My take:
(1) In a country the size of Australia, it makes sense to do most things in at least a dozen places (the capital city and one regional centre in each state). Does Alan (or Brendan) think it’s a good idea that all future pharmacists should go to Perth for their studies?
(2) Diversity and specialisation makes sense within a given city. But there was much more diversity 15 years ago, before competition and rationalisation forced everyone to converge on a common market-driven model. In the name of specialisation, nearly every university has introduced a ‘flagship’ MBA, while crippling Arts and Science faculties. At the same time they have converged on a top-heavy managerialist model with one administrator (or even more) for every academic.
(3) What is ‘conservative’ about a higher education system run on the basis of ministerial whim? Social democrats have learned from experience that central planning isn’t as easy as it sounds. This isn’t a reason for not planning, but it certainly suggests a bit of caution. By contrast, once politicians with a ‘free-market’ ideology take up interventionism, good sense goes out the window. Examples include: Jeff Kennett, Kate Carnell and the Howard government in election mode.
For my detailed views on this subject, you can go here.
Having got the bagging out of the way, it’s time for the welcome. It looks like Alan has plenty to say, and will be a welcome addition to our ever-expanding circle.