University reforms won’t deliver savings, economist warns

Deregulation of university fees will drive up inflation and increase government debt, says one of Australia’s top economists.

Ben Phillips, principal researcher at the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling at the University of Canberra, told a private forum at UC in early February that the Coalition’s higher education reforms will cost far more than they will save. 

His remarks to the invitation-only economic policy meeting, which was also attended by federal crossbench senators David Leyonhjelm and Ricky Muir, were subsequently passed on to journalists.