Flinders University is warning a proposed merger between the Universities of Adelaide and South Australia could create an uneven playing field. Its Vice-Chancellor has told a state parliamentary inquiry he was never formally invited to take part in merger discussions and is now concerned about the amount of taxpayer funding being proposed for the deal.
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00:00 It's touted as a half a billion dollar deal to bolster SA's university sector.
00:08 But Flinders University says the proposed merger of its two biggest rivals will do anything
00:14 but
00:15 "Providing funding to one institution for such support is unfair.
00:19 And I do not mean unfair to Flinders, it's unfair to the students who might have chosen
00:26 Flinders."
00:27 The state government has promised to spend $200 million on research and another $100
00:32 million on scholarships if the universities of Adelaide and South Australia combine.
00:38 Mr Stirling says that will create an uneven playing field.
00:42 "Investing in one and not investing in the other I think would simply be undermining
00:50 the potential that we have in the university sector here in South Australia."
00:54 "I think there would be enormous risk if investment was made in a new university that
00:58 excluded Flinders University, especially in an ongoing way."
01:02 Through a statement, Deputy Premier Susan Close told the ABC, Flinders already has many
01:07 partnerships with the government and it will work with all three universities to strengthen
01:13 the state's higher education sector.
01:15 The committee has also heard from leading Western Australian institution Curtin University.
01:21 In a written submission, the university warned that mergers could be risky and disruptive
01:25 and said they could result in a brain drain for the state.
01:29 But the UniSA Vice-Chancellor is confident the merger will benefit the state.
01:34 "The evidence base that we have for what this institution will attain and the opportunity
01:38 that it affords us to rethink and redo and recast how we deliver education is absolutely
01:43 exciting but it's also daunting."
01:46 It also requires a rewrite of legislation that needs to pass Parliament.
01:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]