Empty rhetoric

"Despite some of the alarmist claims, this analysis shows that doomsday statements are simply empty rhetoric because efficiencies clearly exist," he said.

"Our plan delivers higher real-per-student funding than even just a few years ago, with continuing record numbers of total students, so it's clear that universities can succeed within these reforms."

He argued that the government was offering universities a "more sustainable rate of funding" and warned them that taxpayers expected their investment in universities to be used "as efficiently as possible".

However, the CEO of the elite Group of Eight universities, Vicki Thomson, attacked Senator Birmingham's analysis, arguing that university surpluses were not solely taxpayer funded.

"We may be not-for-profit but we are not for loss and all our funding is ploughed back into our universities and our students," she said.

"Is the minister suggesting we ought not make surpluses?"


Senator Birmingham's departmental officials are expected to refer to the analysis on Tuesday when they give evidence to the Senate committee inquiry into the budget higher education changes.

The committee will report on August 9 before the Senate votes on the higher education funding changes.

Aside from the 4.9 per cent cut, the government also proposes to raise student fees by 7.5 per cent and allocate some university funding on a performance basis.

Oppose changes outright

In a win for universities, it has also offered more long-term funding for the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program which supports low socio economic status students at university.

However most universities oppose the changes outright and have urged the Senate to reject the bill in its entireity.

In the absence of support from Labor or the Greens, the government is likely to be forced to deal with the Senate minor parties and faces the uphill task of winning at least 10 of the 12 votes of the non-Green cross benchers.

The Universities Australia chair, Monash University vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner, said that the government's funding package "moves in the wrong direction".

"Public funding for universities is already low in Australia compared to other countries," she said.