“A university sits at the heart of pretty much every successful economic regional plan you care to nominate anywhere in the world, let alone in Australia,” Scott Morrison said at a Uni Newcastle launch yesterday (scroll down)

Which is the sort of university he likes. “It’s a university that’s very practical and understands the opportunities, whether it’s in science or medicine or in any other areas or fields of enquiry and research, and is raising up a workforce and a generation of people that can actually transform the region in which they’re living. Now that’s what the University of Newcastle’s been doing.”

As opposed to another type of university, “that, you know, keeps itself separate from the rest of the community and walks around in gowns and looks down on everybody. And, you know, only looks at things that are remotely interesting to anyone.”