Flinders University (Remuneration of Council Members) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning) (15:45): I rise to support the Flinders University (Remuneration of Council Members) Amendment Bill. In doing so, I want to acknowledge the great work of Flinders University—the university that my wife went to to study psychology and then law—and to really acknowledge the work that Flinders University has already done and will be doing in relation to helping to grow the South Australian economy.

There is a lot happening down at Flinders at the moment. Together with the member for Davenport, I had the opportunity to talk to the nearby Bedford Park Residents Association in relation to what is happening at Flinders University. There is a whole lot of good stuff going on and there is a good relationship between the university and the government. When we came to office, there had been plans mooted in relation to public transport upgrades as part of the Darlington project, as well as this expansion mooted at Flinders University, but it seems that idea, that proposal, that deal, was really stuck in the muck and had a degree of complexity around it that was going to stifle the growth happening down there on site.

We have also seen on that site some of the good growth at Tonsley and the money that Flinders University has expended to put a building on site—essentially, a student facility—there at Tonsley as part of their expansion. Overall, there was a whole heap of potential that just needed to be unlocked by a government that has a higher degree of commercial reality and one that was willing to work together and partner in a way to deliver the best altruistic outcome for South Australians. What is going to happen down at the Flinders precinct is transformational for the southern suburbs and off the back of the existing Darlington project, one that is well underway and has seen quite a number of the elements of that project already open with significant elements to be opened between now and the end of the year.

What really has unlocked the Flinders University project is two things: number one is this government actually getting on, finalising the design and then getting the federal government's commitment to delivering the Flinders Link upgrade—a 650-metre train line extension that goes over South Road and for the first time actually delivers trains into the heart of the Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre precincts.

It is an extension that needed to be upgraded to improve the quality of the viaduct structure so that that structure is safe. Having seen the issues that existed on the Glenelg tram overpass on South Road and listened to the engineers about what the strength of the structure needs to be to carry those EMUs, when the engineers say that you need to upgrade to make sure that this thing is safe, that is what you listen to.

In addition to that, what we also did was make sure that there are proper cycling and pedestrian links through Flinders Link, make sure that we have an elevator at the bottom of the Flinders Link overpass on the northern side of the road, make sure that we have the proper shared use path and make sure that the structure is built to the highest quality standard rather than a substandard cut-price rush job.

That investment is going to spark some $1½ billion worth of investment in the Flinders University site and that is the second part of this story that I want to highlight. The Minister for Environment and Water has done a phenomenal job in working together with Flinders University, as well as my department, to put something on the table that is going to unlock Flinders University. We know that this is a government that has an ambition to grow our economy by 3 per cent a year. This is a government that has an ambition to grow our population here in South Australia.

One of the nine key sectors that the Joyce review talked about was international education and its ability to deliver population growth as well as jobs growth as well as broader economic growth for South Australia. From what the statistics say, every extra international student we get delivers somewhere between $35,000 and $40,000 into the South Australian economy—a huge boost per student.

We have an opportunity here to grow our international student population with our university that is outside of the central business district. On site at Flinders University, there is essentially a blank canvas to be able to develop not only a student accommodation village and some of those associated retail and hospitality businesses that would naturally go with a larger resident population, but also other research buildings and the like that Flinders University want to put on site, all adding up to $1½ billion worth of construction investment off the back of the state and federal governments' $125 million commitment to delivering the Flinders Link upgrade.

That will also give a very easy and quick connection between that Flinders University village precinct and Adelaide. For those international students who are attracted down there to Flinders University, the opportunity to be able to get on a train and get straight to Adelaide without any further connection is fantastic and really helps to unlock the amenity and the livability and improve the lifestyle choice of Flinders University for international students.

It is amazing to me that this was not something that was locked down earlier but something that we saw the unbridled potential in. Again, I would like to commend the Minister for Environment and Water. I also commend my department, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, for essentially unlocking this project—a project that had so many caveats and difficulties with it that the growth was going to be stifled and delayed—and realising the potential that construction investment was going to bring and that increasing the number of international students was going to bring, which will really help grow Flinders University and increase its reputation as a global university.

Flinders University has also been fantastic to work with when it comes to our ambition to drive forward transport innovation here in South Australia. Together with a number of university professors, including Professor Rocco Zito, one of the state's leading experts in autonomous vehicle technology, we have been working on the work that is happening down on site at Tonsley to help drive forward this government's ambition to embrace new transport technology.

Again, we have been able to work in a commercial way, in a way that unlocks the benefits and the development of this new technology, to help keep our young people here. So many of the students that are involved in that program are intimately involved with the trials that have been set up and are really helping to build a hub here in South Australia for this kind of technology. Again, it is a real credit to the university and also a credit to the relationship that exists between this state government and Flinders University in seeking to really drive forward those employment outcomes.

We have also been extremely impressed by the work that the university is doing around the creative arts, especially around animation, digital design and all those creative industry technology jobs that are growing here in South Australia. I am sure that the Minister for Innovation and Skills would be very excited to know how the work he is undertaking with bringing Mortal Kombat here to South Australia is creating connections with students who are recent graduates of the courses that Flinders University provides.

In an industry that is exciting and engaging for young people—those very young people who have been leaving this state in droves, some 6,000-odd persons per year—it is essentially providing a clear pathway, a clear link between their education (after having finished their education) and their ability to see a career pathway here in Adelaide and here in South Australia. Again, it is brilliant work that Flinders University has partnered together with the state government on.

There are extremely exciting times moving forward for Flinders University. They are extremely forward looking and have a deep understanding and deep penetration in international markets and are a fantastic ambassador for South Australia. Our key export industries really are the links between South Australia and the rest of the world—whether they be our wine exporters travelling the globe, sharing the wares of South Australia and building our reputation as a global wine maker, or whether they be our food exporters taking our wares, our beef or sheep meat or our seafood or grains products. They are showing the world that we have world-class products. It is also our international education space, and they embed themselves in key international markets.

Again, in selling the courses and selling the lifestyle, they are trying to attract people here from other countries to enjoy that. They are selling South Australia. Again, they are a key ambassador in this government's ambition to drive jobs growth, population growth and, in turn, broader economic growth for South Australians. So I commend this bill to the house.

It is only fair and proper that the members of the board, a number of whom I have met, get paid for the work that they do and for their time. In fact, we are talking now about an organisation that has over 20,000 students and over 2,000 staff, and the further professionalisation of our universities is right and proper. Yes, they are first and foremost educational institutions and research institutions, but they also do form part of this government's agenda to drive growth and prosperity.

Having the best and brightest, and paying the best and brightest for their time, is a simple yet very key step forward, and I commend the Minister for Education for bringing the bill to this house. It has been wonderful, in my short 18 months in this gig, to work with an organisation like Flinders University and its Vice-Chancellor, Colin Stirling. They approach things with a clear mind and with clear commercial and educational outcomes at their heart, and they are willing to work cooperatively and in good faith to deliver the best outcomes for the south and for the people of South Australia.

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (15:57): Originally, I was not going to speak on this bill, but the Minister for Education has convinced me of the need to. I think the first time I met the Minister for Education was at Flinders University, and I think we were negotiating something that seemed probably incredibly important at the time about student politics or the like, but in the light of day now I cannot even remember what it was. I have to declare my interests as an alumni of Flinders University. Therefore, I am incredibly biased about its importance to the state. Sadly, I was never a member of the university council, but I was a member—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: Not yet.

Mr PICTON: Not yet, says the Minister for Education, so there is still time. I might use him as a referee for the appointment. I was a member of the Academic Senate for a year there. Back in the day, the arrangement was that the student association president or general secretary, in the particular vernacular that I am sure was used dating back to the seventies, sat on the university council, and the union president—who I was—got a gig on the Academic Senate. I also declare my interest, given that my mother is an employee of Flinders University, on the academic staff, and holds a doctorate from there. I am, of course, very proud of her endeavours.

What a great thing for the council to come to the parliament and to be as forward thinking as to ask for money for themselves. It is very good of them to suggest this idea. I am sure it was done with all modesty and thinking about the greater good rather than themselves. Hopefully, this will prove successful for the council. Hopefully, they will be able to attract and retain some excellent people to sit on the council and to provide support for the university over the years to come.

Since I graduated in the mid-2000s to now, Flinders University has undertaken some fantastic initiatives. The work they have done around the Tonsley precinct has been amazing. A lot of those departments now in the Tonsley precinct were departments of Flinders University that people were questioning whether or not should continue to operate. Now they have gone from strength to strength and grown significantly in terms of the number of people there. There is obviously good industry collaboration happening there and it has been very successful, and the growth in student numbers is to be welcomed.

I will make a contribution to say that I see some risk in the approach the university has taken on some matters. Particularly controversial at Flinders is some of the academic restructure that has happened in recent years. I think it is vitally important that universities continue to modernise and connect with industry and with where employment and innovation are happening to make sure they are commercialising. That does not necessarily apply quite as neatly to some of the social sciences and humanities areas as it does to engineering, business, science and biomedical pursuits.

I have some concerns about what I have seen in terms of some of the more academic and more humanities and social sciences areas, that they are pushing into a field where the drive is for commercialisation in areas where it is very difficult to do. There has been a significant shake-up of the academic staff there and some good people have been lost. I look at my old school of law there, and when I went to Flinders University I chose it over Adelaide because it was the higher rated degree. Over the last few years, some really excellent people have been lost out of Flinders University law. I am concerned by that and hope that it does flourish under the current staff there, but it concerns me how much that restructure has impacted on some of those areas.

That said, it is still a fantastic university and my heart will always be at Flinders University. As a member of parliament in the southern suburbs, I acknowledge the vital role it plays in the south, not only by training and educating people in the south, by providing opportunities for people from low socio-economic backgrounds in the south and by being not only a major sponsor of the mighty South Adelaide Football Club but also, very importantly, the major employer in the southern suburbs, and that is a vital role it plays there. I wish it every success for the future and hope that this vital piece of legislation helps them along the way.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (16:02): It is a pleasure to be able to close the debate after hearing contributions from a range of measures on the Flinders University (Remuneration of Council Members) Amendment Bill. It is perhaps not surprising that a number of different members might want to contribute to a debate such as this because, when we all reflect on legislation that reminds us of institutions where many of us have had personal experiences, one cannot help but have one's interest increased in the subject matter at hand.

I was not originally going to, but I will indulge for a moment because the member for Kaurna has provoked me to. I do not necessarily recall the political negotiations that, as he said, seemed very important at the time, but the passage of time has not been kind to the level of importance they may have had ultimately. I do not recall what it was about either, but it does reflect the fact that I did a couple of subjects at Flinders University.

My degree was at Adelaide, but I had enough of a stake at Flinders that I attended the campus, they gave me a student card and I was able to negotiate with the member for Kaurna as he was then—that is, the convener of student unity, I suspect, or some other such student political term—on behalf of the Liberals on campus, or whatever we were calling ourselves at the time. I am sure that went very well and was to the greater good.

It reminds me that when I was at university I think I did two or three language subjects at Flinders, some on Flinders campus and some through their partnership with Adelaide University that enabled Flinders University subjects to be taught at Adelaide. I did Spanish at Adelaide, and I seem to remember doing Italian at Flinders. There may have possibly been other subjects.

I look back at that period of my life and wish that I knew as much now as I did then. I knew everything then—students are blessed with that gift. The older I have become, and the more time that has elapsed since I was at university, the more I understand how much is to be known and how the world perhaps is not as black and white as it seemed back then.

Mr Szakacs: It is never too late to go back. Everyone loves a mature age student.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: The member for Cheltenham might join the member for Kaurna, if he likes, in a future career on the Flinders University Council. I am no longer as sure that I am going to add my name to a reference check after hearing the member for Kaurna's speech, but I will consider it. If he would like to apply in the next year or so as an alternative career path, then I am absolutely happy to endorse that application.

The fact is, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition identified I thought pretty eloquently in her speech, the provision of community service through service in a parliament or on an board or a council or a committee should not be denigrated because financial recompense is sought and granted. Indeed, it is not just the history of the South Australian parliament: politicians for thousands of years in the Western world, and probably anywhere in the world where we have representatives, often were not paid for their service. The lack of payment means that that service is unavailable to people who do not have the means to provide that service unless there is payment.

Now, as the member for Port Adelaide said, in the case of a full-time job, that is potentially more critical. But we do also want to identify that there are places where people can provide community service through service on boards and committees where significant time is taken in that service, and having somebody who has a level of capacity, but potentially not the ability to provide that time unless there is some recompense, we would certainly see as beneficial for some recompense to be paid for that service.

The fact of the matter is that in South Australia we have three main public universities: the University of South Australia, where members of council are paid; the University of Adelaide, where members of council are not paid, nor have they sought the opportunity to be so; and Flinders University, where, outside the Chancellor and, I think, the Vice-Chancellor, who are the only two who are paid, members of the council are not paid. We want our public universities to contribute to our economy. We want them to contribute to our social wellbeing and the development of our students' education and we want them to continue to contribute to our culture. Having strong leadership in the universities independent of government is important.

Some members have taken the opportunity during the course of this debate to give what I am sure the Vice-Chancellor and the university council at Flinders University would see as advice. But, ultimately, I think that it is best that politicians are not the ones dipping their hands into the day-to-day administration of universities. It is, indeed, a responsibility of the universities because independence from government, as much as possible, is one of the things they cherish, as is being able to develop a strong leadership culture and the governance culture that they have.

The Flinders University Council has identified that the difference between them and the University of South Australia, and indeed the majority of public universities around Australia, in that they are not able to pay the council members and offer some recompense for the extraordinary amount of time, diligence and effort provided by those council members, is deleterious to Flinders University. I also identify that the current members of the Flinders University council have not been paid and are providing the current service they provide for free. That is something for which we are grateful.

They have been willing to provide that service to the people of South Australia, to the institution, to the staff and to the students of Flinders University without been paid before, and we are grateful for that. But, as has been put by the Chancellor, who is not going to benefit from this bill, as I understand it, given that he is already in a position of receiving some recompense, we want Flinders University to be in a position where the lack of payment does not prevent any suitable person from potentially serving on the council in the future, and I think that is absolutely reasonable.

The commercial and economic benefit, and the work that is being done by the university, have been identified by all the speakers and I thank them all for making such identification. The university has contributed to our state's economy through international students and through the research, offshoots, spin-offs and start-ups that have started at Flinders University. I am happy to acknowledge the extraordinarily inspirational work being done at Tonsley, but also through Flinders University's other campuses.

The university is having an impact in supporting education in regional South Australia. The range of disciplines where Flinders University makes an impact on our economy is significant, and this is through its direct work but also through the input from its graduates into our economy subsequently. It provides a service for the people of South Australia through giving our students every opportunity to succeed and prosper.

Flinders University is one of our more modern universities and has a place in the world which all South Australians can be proud of, particularly which the staff, students and alumni of Flinders University can be proud of. The way that its schools are shooting up the rankings in a range of disciplines is to be applauded and the way that they have attracted increasing numbers of international students, particularly in recent years, is tremendous.

I also want to reflect again on the cultural impact that our universities have, through the contribution that their existing students make, through clubs and societies even, but also their engagement with institutions, performing arts companies and other cultural organisations is substantial. They are amongst our bigger employers in South Australia, certainly in the southern suburbs, as has been identified. The future-thinking, forward-looking developments currently being led by the administration of Flinders University are laudable.

With that, I commend the bill to the house. I thank the opposition and other members for their support for this piece of legislation and I look forward to its further passage through the parliament in the not too distant future so that Flinders University can benefit from its provisions.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Minister for Education) (16:12): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.