Attributable to Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson:
Australia's world-class universities educate millions of students and employ hundreds of thousands of people, produce research that propels our nation, and drive significant economic and social gains.
We have one of the best higher education sectors in the world, supported by the nation's taxpayers.
The Albanese Government's Universities Accord is our best chance to make it even stronger.
Australia would not be as successful without our universities, world-class teachers and graduates.
We would not be a modern, prosperous nation without university-led research and development.
The impact of the work universities do is felt in every community, by every Australian, every day.
And as the world around us changes, we need more of what universities offer, not less.
More than half of the one million jobs expected to be created in the next five years will require a university degree.
We will need more teachers, engineers, nurses, scientists and historians to keep our country forward looking and flourishing - from Sydney to Perth, Darwin to Traralgon.
We will need more research and development to advance our economy and society, keeping us at the cutting-edge of the new industrial revolution and prepared for changes in our geopolitical environment.
This is what Australia and Australians need and deserve, and it is what universities deliver.
Getting the policy settings right will support universities in these important endeavours, and to thrive.
The Accord is our chance to do this.
A chance to work with government, in genuine partnership, to shape our future and that of the nation.
A chance to solidify the foundations on which our sector will operate for decades to come, to deliver what we all want Australia to be in the future.
We will be bold in ambition and rigorous in our approach to the Accord - courageous enough to think deeply about how our systems work and whether they best serve our sector and the nation.
We will identify where change is required and how to best achieve it, and where we are better off building on existing strengths.
We know that when our universities are strong, Australia is strong.
It is in our national interest to keep our universities and our nation that way.
Education, like defence and health, is a national priority we cannot afford to get wrong - not now, not ever.
The Accord is a time of opportunity - for universities, for Australia, and for everyone who calls it home.
Working together, we can achieve the best for our country.
We have no time to waste.
