A broken university system is letting Australia down
from Follow The Money Hosted by The Australia Institute
Poor governance, poor policy and decades of neoliberalism have broken Australia’s university sector, with devastating consequences for students and the country. On this episode of Follow the Money, Richard Denniss and Ebony Bennett discuss the lack of accountability in Australia’s universities, why some institutions’ claims of financial crises aren’t supported by their auditors, and what Australians think about the state of the sector. Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia’s future by Professor George Williams is available now via Australia Institute Press. Guest: Richard Denniss, co-CEO, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett Show notes: Australians believe universities are too expensive and not doing their job: polling, the Australia Institute (November 2025) There is no financial crisis at the University of Newcastle: new analysis, the Australia Institute (October 2025) The ANU’s hidden $90m budget surplus, the Australia Institute (October 2025) Failing the test: Australian universities in crisis, Follow the Money, the Australia Institute (May 2025) Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected]. Support Follow the Money & the research powerful interests fear: https://theaus.in/4vs6XeO
Embed this episode
What this episode covers
Poor governance, poor policy and decades of neoliberalism have broken Australia’s university sector, with devastating consequences for students and the country.
No transcript yet.