Charles Sturt University (CSU) professor of economics John Hicks said the Federal Government has left regional areas, students and the university practically untouched in the Budget handed down on Tuesday night. 

Fears were that cuts to government expenditure would hit regional NSW hard, while cuts to tertiary education expenditure would have been problematic for university towns like Bathurst.

However, neither of these issues eventuated in the formal Budget announcement. 

“This has not happened on this occasion although there is, as yet, no resolution on the problems the government created in their last Budget universities,” professor Hicks said. 

One of the biggest talking points over the past few months has been the deregulation of

universities, which would see the cost of higher education skyrocket. 

This was also not addressed in the Budget, but professor Hicks said “deregulation is likely to come” in the future.

While universities are still waiting on further information about deregulation, all Australian university graduates who choose to live overseas will be hit with the pressure of having to pay off their HECS debts under one of the key education initiatives to come from the budget.

This will be required once graduates start earning above the repayment threshold, differing to the current system under which they can make voluntary repayments to the Australian Tax Office, but are not legally obliged to do so.

“At least it is recouping some of the cost of their study,” professor Hicks said. 

Overall, professor Hicks said the Budget to be one focused on getting the Federal Government to the next election while trying to deal with the reality that the economy is not doing well.

“Will the Budget move back into surplus? Maybe,” he said. 

“But this will require economic activity to pick up quite a bit and this will largely depend on Australians taking advantage of the opportunities for developing overseas markets – particularly in China.”