Australia must radically overhaul its university system by breaking the monopoly of the default three-year bachelor degree, former Labor leader Bill Shorten has declared in a speech saying reform of the tertiary sector is key to “national survival”.

Shorten, who began as vice chancellor of the University of Canberra this year after retiring from politics , said Australia’s research excellence often did not translate into commercial success, calling the country’s economy “dangerously simple” because it failed to produce a range of sophisticated products.

“The structural fragility of our economy is the single greatest threat to our long-term security. And I put it to you that our university sector, the engine room of our national intellect, is crucial to solving this crisis but, in its c

See Full Page