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Your views: on pay disparity and more

Today, readers comment on the wage gap between university leaders and staff, and an APY Lands COVID alert.

Dec 14, 2021, updated Dec 14, 2021

Commenting on the opinion piece: Examining exorbitant pay for university elite

I commend the article by Barbara Pocock, not only for her acknowledgement of the contribution of the late Professor Geoff Harcourt to students of economics for many years, but for her insightful analysis of the growing inequality within not only universities but the nation as a whole.

We seriously need a rethink of  this country as country of egalitarianism when employment conditions are increasingly exploitative, when front line workers (as  during COVID-19) have shown the occupations that are truly important to the health of society and the economy.

The ‘lock out’  of young people from the housing market which Australia has alone created is scandalous and the silence of nine housing Ministers across Australia is equally so.  The Morrison Government’s treatment of universities has been vindictive, yet barely a peep out of our Vice-Chancellors who speak more of a hopeful return of international students than investment and protection of their own staff. – Michael O’Neil

The description of salary inequality in the higher education sector so brilliantly described in detail by Barbara Pocock started many moons ago when the university sector adopted a corporate view of itself.

How can universities justify this amount of remuneration for their VCs when their income is largely guaranteed? How can VCs compare their roles as more complex than those state Premiers or Prime Ministers who earn much less? Surely their employers – aka the government – aka the people – should be able to cap these salaries based on size and complexities of universities? – Maria Russo

When comparing the salary of a Vice Chancellor with the SA Premier, it’s worth noting that the Premier’s $418,000 annual salary for governing 1.7 million people vastly exceeds that of the British PM, who’s entitled to claim A$291,000 pa for governing 65 million. According to the BBC, Boris doesn’t claim the full entitlement.

It’s also worth noting that there are eight state/territory plus one federal leaders on substantial salaries for governing relatively small populations. Boris does it all by himself and still has time for partying. – Alan Strickland

Thank you, Barbara. I listened to Geoff’s thank you speech at Stephanie Kelton’s Harcourt Lecture a couple of years ago and I had a glimpse of what higher education used to be and what we have so sadly lost. – Damian Scanlon

Commenting on the story: ‘We want everyone to stay still’: APY Lands cash, fuel restrictions over COVID alert

Were cash payments stopped in other communities when Covid was detected? Why are they still being treated like second class citizens?

Of course it is important to keep people safe but if governments trust other communities to self determine risk and safety then why not those in APY lands. This action bothers me greatly and shows how little colonial ideals have progressed. – Amanda Kinsley

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