Australia’s beleaguered university sector is never far from the headlines these days. Former Labor leader and current University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Bill Shorten probably doesn’t envy his former ministerial colleagues who are currently on the campaign trail, but nonetheless, he’s in the news today.

The Canberra Times reports that Shorten is announcing a new voluntary redundancy program for UC’s professional staff. “We are not looking to achieve certain targets nor have we identified further positions as excess to requirements,” he told reporters.

UC has saved about $30 million by letting go of 150 staff to date. But why were these cuts necessary in the first place? Like most universities, UC has spent big on discretionary things that aren’t education or research.

Its 2023 annual report shows that the university spent $16.7 million on consultants’ fees, $9 million on ‘outsource management fees’, $697,000 on ‘sponsorships’, nearly $4.4 million on travel and just shy of $3 million on advertising.

The above graph shows that those items cost more in total than the 150 jobs that UC has since cut to repair its deficit.

UC is far from the worst offender. Australia’s public universities spend hundreds of millions each year on things like consultants, promotions and sponsorships, outsourced management and travel. In some institutions, business class flights amount to a quarter of total travel costs.

All of this is to say nothing of the salaries of Australian Vice-Chancellors, who are “among the highest paid in the world” according to Australia Institute research. Shorten, who until early this year was a senior minister in Cabinet, more than doubled his salary when he commenced at UC. (And that was him negotiating downwards!)

It’s not hard to see why senators launched an inquiry into the governance of the university sector this year. University managers have brought about budget crises through their misallocation of resources, and thanks to ineffective governance, they’ve not been properly held to account until now.

The inquiry only had time for one hearing before the election was called, but it was enough to highlight huge problems with decision-making and transparency on university councils. Senators heard first-hand experiences of undisclosed conflicts of interest, widespread wage theft and reliance on external consultants for strategic decision-making.

Great countries have great institutions. But Australian universities are currently failing to live up to their ideals. They need more democratic and more accountable governing bodies who can rein in their spending on inessential items. The buck stops with university managers. As UC’s new Vice-Chancellor has himself said, “blaming everyone else is not necessarily the solution”.

He’s right, you know.