“Canberra is to fast-track hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure funding to the university sector as part of its effort to pump-prime the economy in the face of the global credit crisis and worldwide fears of recession. But the sector is lobbying the Government to more than double the $304 million in infrastructure funding allocated to the sector in the 2008-09 budget in order to fully fund the $700 million of university building proposals that are waiting on decisions from the Government. Some 14 building proposals have been short-listed for funding from the Higher Education Endowment Fund. As foreshadowed in The Australian yesterday, the Government is accelerating the final bidding process by around six months, with funding decisions now expected by the end of the year. University umbrella group Universities Australia called on the Government to fund all 14 proposals …” (more)
[Andrew Trounson, The Australian Higher Education, 23 October]