From:	Terry Stokes [t.stokes@cqu.edu.au]
Sent:	Tuesday, 17 October 2000 5:58 PM
To:	'eet.sen@aph.gov.au'
Cc:	Lauchlan Chipman; Glenice Hancock; Ken Window; Eric Laakso
Subject:	Submission re ARC bills

Importance:	High
The Secretary
Senate EWRSBE Legislation Committee

I am writing in response to a call for submissions to the Senate Employment,
Workplace relations, Small Business and Education Committee in relation to
the Australian Research Council (ARC) Bill 2000, and ARC (Consequential and
Transitional Provisions) Bill 2000.

Central Queensland University supports the changes to the ARC which were
announced in Knowledge and Innovation, the Federal Government's recent white
paper on research and research training in higher education. These changes
are embodied in the two bills referred by the Senate to your Committee.
Consequently, Central Queensland University commends these bills to you, and
encourages the Committee to report favourably upon them to the Senate. There
are, however, some matters of detail on which the University wishes to
comment.

There has been some controversy regarding the possibility of the Bill
permitting private institutions access to ARC funding under certain
circumstances. Central Queensland University sees no difficulty of principle
in this and, indeed, believes that exposure to competition from the private
sector provides a warrant of the quality of research undertaken in public
sector institutions.

The University notes that the bills do not appear to permit the ARC to
provide policy advice to government, other than on matters referred to the
ARC by the government. In the view of the University, it would be desirable
for the ARC to be able to formally seek a reference from the Government to
provide advice on matters which concern the ARC. It does not appear to the
University, however, that the Government should necessarily have to accede
to such a request.

On a minor, but curious point, it appears odd to the University that the
Australian Research Council should be governed by a board rather than a
council.

As a former Counsellor to the National Board of Employment, Education and
Training, working primarily for the ARC, and Special Advisor to the ARC, I
am personally very much in favour of these proposed new arrangements. They
will mean that the ARC operates in the same way as do research funding
agencies in virtually all the other nations with which we wish to compare
ourselves (USA,UK, Canada, Netherlands, &c.).

Terry Stokes

Professor T D Stokes
Pro-Vice-Chancellor 
(Research & Academic Development)
Central Queensland University
Rockhampton 4702 AUSTRALIA
telephone:    07 4930 9515 (Australia)
           +61 7 4930 9515 (International)
            0407 698 802  (mobile)