Carr's double backflip on caps

The Opposition Spokesperson for Higher Education, Senator Kim Carr has managed a double backflip with triple pike today, firstly raising the idea of recapping university fees in The Australian this morning, then ruling it out a few hours later at the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Summit.

Labor uncapped university places in 2009 with the Coalition's support as was recommended by the Bradley Review of Higher Education and it has greatly increased participation.

However it has also meant government must find billions of additional dollars in an increasingly unsustainable uncapped model requiring urgent reform to guarantee quality, equity and affordability into the future.

In The Australian this morning Senator Carr appeared to suggest overturning the previous Governments decision to uncap places, a significant reform which received bipartisan support.

Just hours later Senator Carr appeared to emphatically rule that out and at the same time promise billions of extra dollars for higher education without any detail on where this funding would come from.

Since Labor's record is of cutting $6.6 billion from higher education over the six years they were in Government, it is little wonder there was some scepticism about Senator Carr's claims.

It is clear the Opposition has no plan for higher education except to deceive and scare Australians.

It is time for Labor to end the carping and listen to the consensus call of the higher education sector to work with the Government and achieve a lasting reform to set our vital higher education sector on a sustainable footing into the future.