The Commonwealth Education Minister, Brendan Nelson, has suggested that the federal government assume full legal responsibility for universities. Andrew Norton argues that transferring power over universities from the states to the Commonwealth would be a mistake. Centralising decisionmaking in Canberra would put key decisions in the hands of the government most deaf to feedback, with...

Opponents of university fees have linked declining fertility to student debt, to justify lower charges under the Higher Education Scheme (HECS). Andrew Norton argues that HECS has no impact on fertility - university educated people have fewer children, whether they are paying HECS or not. HECS cuts constitute inefficient policy, for they would reward equally...