Higher Education Minister Tony Buti says his government hasn’t “articulated” the benefits of a university merger as a hostile upper house look set to kill the proposal before it even gets off the ground.
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it → say → ground
The three-way merger proposal has been beset with controversies since Buti and Premier Roger Cook announced earlier this month a steering committee would scrutinise the idea in a business case set to be delivered to government mid-2027.
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committee → beset → government
Both vice chancellors from Murdoch and Curtin have come out in strident opposition to the proposed merger between UWA, Curtin and Murdoch, questioning the rationale behind it.
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chancellors → come → it
A 2025 Deloitte cost benefit analysis recommending the merger was riddled with citation errors because of AI use, which prompted Buti to request Deloitte pay back the $160,000 report cost.
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Deloitte → recommend → cost
Hundreds of students and university staff are expected to rally against the proposal on the front steps of Parliament on Wednesday.
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Hundreds → expect → Wednesday
Speaking ahead of the rally, Buti said he understood student concern about the merger, blaming “misinformation” and that he hadn’t been able to “articulate our position to them.”
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he → speak → them
Critics of the proposal cite the potential cost of a merger, which could be north of $1 billion.
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which → cite → merger
Other critiques include the perception that a merger was a preordained outcome because Buti and Cook publicly backed the findings of the Deloitte report and a 2023 report that recommended a three-way merger.
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that → include → merger
Buti rejected those criticisms and said if the steering committee’s business case did not advocate for a three-way merger, it would not pursue it.
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it → reject → it
“I know what I believe should happen, but that will not happen if the business case does not stack up,” he said.
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he → know → ?
“We will have to look at other possible reforms, but all I ask students, all I ask academics… universities are centres of free thinking, of open debate, of looking at the evidence.
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universities → look → evidence
Let’s reimagine education at the tertiary sector in Western Australia, so it’s fit for the 21st century.
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it → reimagine → century
Buti said the status quo of the WA university sector could not continue and he took aim at executive pay packets.
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he → say → packets
It is not right that we have senior executives in Western Australian universities who, as a totality, are earning over $36 million dollars a year,” he said.
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he → have → dollars
“I want a lot of that money redirected to help students and to help staff.”
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lot → want → staff
Any merger will require an act of parliament to happen and Labor does not have a majority in the upper house, meaning it needs to negotiate with the opposition and crossbench to pass any bill.
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it → require → bill
Labor needs two votes for any bill to pass.
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bill → need → votes
The chances of passing the upper house were dealt a significant blow on Wednesday with the Liberals officially stating they would nor support the merger.
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they → pass → merger
The Greens also do not support the merger and called on the opposition last week to join them in opposing it.
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Greens → support → it
This masthead understands the Nationals, which hold two seats in the upper house, are still considering their position, as are One Nation and Legalise Cannabis’ Brian Walker.
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Nation → understand → position
“This is a mega-merger nobody asked for, and the more everyone learns about it, the less anyone wants it,” Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said.
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Zempilas → ask → it
“Labor wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars forcing three universities together while West Australians struggle to pay their bills, find a home or get the healthcare they need.
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they → want → healthcare
“The government can’t even get the facts right in its own cost-benefit analysis for a merger.
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facts → get → merger
How can West Australians trust it to get the merger itself right?
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merger → trust → it
And given Labor’s appalling record of cost blowouts, West Australians have every reason to fear the final bill will be much, much higher than the government claims.”
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government → give → reason
Responding to the opposition’s position, Buti said: “that’s interesting”.
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that → respond → position
“They’ve also painted themselves in the corner too if it comes out that there’s an overwhelming case for it,” he said.
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he → paint → it
Buti was invited to speak at the rally but declined because he was reading the Equal Opportunity Bill into parliament, which he relayed to Curtin Student Guild president Dylan Storer.
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he → invite → Storer
The Aporia
