Tanya Plibersek sets the university accountability she would require as education minister

In an interview with Tom Tilley on Triple J the shadow education portfolio minister repeated the conditions attached to the reinstatement of demand driven funding.

“We want to work with universities to make sure that universities really are focused on the needs of their local community and the national need when they are designing courses. We want to make sure, for example, that we are not over-graduating numbers of students in particular areas where they are not likely to go on and find a job.”

Ms Plibersek added that, “a lot of universities do go out of their way to make sure that they are responding to the sorts of jobs that are likely to be available.” However, she made clear Labor would want, “arrangements with universities where they explain to us how they are meeting the national needs and the needs of their local community.”