A report into plans by the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide to merge is due to be handed down today.
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00:00 It was in July that the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia did
00:06 agree to merge and this amalgamation has been spoken about for quite some time.
00:11 Come 2026, South Australia could be home to one of the biggest universities in the world,
00:17 or sorry, in the country.
00:19 It is going to come at a pretty hefty price tag to the public purse.
00:23 The state government could be pitching in $445 million.
00:29 When it was decided to amalgamate, a parliamentary committee was established and over the past
00:35 four months they've been talking to many individuals and organisations and the vice chancellors
00:42 of both universities believe that this merger is only going to be a good thing.
00:48 They believe that the amalgamated university could be one of the top 100 uni's education
00:54 facilities in the world with better education and updated curricula and also better facilities.
01:02 The Adelaide Central Market Authority, they have also weighed in on this parliamentary
01:07 committee.
01:08 They believe that having more students will be better for business.
01:12 There are a few people who are against this amalgamation.
01:18 Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, Warren Bevington, has described
01:23 it as a lumbering dinosaur.
01:26 He's suggested that this proposal should be postponed by at least 12 months.
01:33 That was a comment that cost about $500 million.
01:37 Flinders University, they have said that if you're investing in one university but not
01:43 the other, that could really put a damper on the university sector here in Adelaide.
01:52 For this merger to go through legislation, it must be passed through parliament.
01:57 All eyes will be on parliament today at about 2 o'clock when this report will be handed
02:02 down.
02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]