UNIVERSITY SALARIES

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28801, 23 January 1959, Page 13

UNIVERSITY SALARIES

“■Characteristics Of Crisis” (New Zealand Press Association) PALMERSTON N„ Jan. 22. A danger to New Zealand through Australian universities havirig a much higher scale of salaries was seda today by Mr H. D. Black, a senior lecturer ta economics and a Fellow xH the Senate of the University of Sydney. Mr Black, who is a member of the Australiaii' delegation attending the Campion wealth Relations Conference, £as on this, his second visit to New Zealand, been struck by thtf similarity of salary conditions Zealand universities and Australia before the recent increases there. Consulting records. Mr Black said that the rise in student numbers in New Zealand was about oh a par with that in Sydney, Where ’ 16.000 students were expected by 1962. as against the present total Of 9000. . . The Australian universities had just passed through u crisis, and perhaps that experience could be helpful to New Zealand, which shared with Australia the same characteristics of the crisis, be said. Those characteristics were inadequate resources for. proper academic purposes, the pressure of an ever-increasing student population, a lack of capital for expansion, a staff whose salaries were well below a proper academic scale, and difficulties in both retaining and expanding that staff.' “The prompt implementation, in the main. by,, the Commonwealth and State Governments of the Murray report, which was based upon a thorough investigation of an expert pon-political committee, effected a revolution in this situation.” said Mr Black. “As a general acadeniic principle, governing bodies of universities should be able to determine and implement a proper academic scale of salaries.” he said.