Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia James Cook University March 2014 Introduction James Cook University (JCU) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia. JCU is Australia’s leading university in the tropics with an explicit (legislated) focus on education and research addressing the opportunities and critical challenges facing natural and human systems in the tropics, world-wide. Northern Australian is a vast natural and cultural asset of global significance. There are exciting opportunities to build on the north’s economic foundations of mining, tourism and agriculture through dynamic development and leveraging of smart technologies, place-based tropical expertise and by building economic, research and educational links with Asia Pacific and the tropical world, to develop a spectrum of products, technologies, processes and services. At the same time, though, it is important to be mindful of the fact that there are significant climatic, environmental, physical and economic constraints in northern Australia, as well as a history of overblown claims about its potential that underestimate or misrepresent these environmental, climatic and logistical realities. Universities and research institutions in the north are major employers in their own right and their operations have significant local impact. Institutions with substantial footprints and deep networks in northern Australia such as JCU have a critical role in developing the region through: Human capital development - developing regionally relevant education and workforce skills; Contributing to the development of social capital through staff and student mobility, research collaborations, and participation networks with business, government, regional development and community organisations at local, regional and international scale; Delivering excellent research with impact and relevance for policy makers, industries and communities; Their role as incubators of smart technologies; and As primary providers of data and analysis. In this submission, the University presents some general comments about principles that should guide consideration of the opportunities for and constraints on the further development of northern Australia. We also provide commentary on what JCU specifically, and universities and research institutions more broadly do, and argue for our strategic role in developing the skills, networks and R&D that will be fundamental for sustainable development of the north over the long term. Development needs to be considered thoughtfully. Development that erodes northern Australia’s unique natural and cultural assets or that does not engage and align with the long-term values, aspirations and activities of peoples, businesses and institutions of northern Australia is likely to result in perverse outcomes, exacerbate under-development in Indigenous communities, and under- deliver on the region’s and Australia’s social, environmental and economic future. 1 Accordingly, JCU submits that a northern Australia development agenda must take into account the critical importance of: Maintaining, and be seen to be maintaining, the natural and cultural assets that are fundamental to regional identity and sustainable economic activity. Including Indigenous communities and perspectives. Developing strategic approaches to adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts. Incrementally improving productivity by optimising efficiency and capacity of existing infrastructure (e.g., Burdekin irrigation). Leveraging and maximising the capacity of key social and cultural assets including education, health and research institutions and the associated networks. Accessibility to and sharing of data, analysis and R&D for transparent, evidenced-based decision making across private sector investment and public policy development. Strengthening governance structures and capacity to enable devolved decision making at appropriate regional scales. Maximising the enablers of smart technological and service innovations – high speed broadband and accessible network and application platforms. Growing social and human capital to enable local businesses and communities to participate in and benefit from a development agenda. Encouraging research collaborations that bring together industry, policy makers, regulators, communities and research providers, along with their extensive informal and formal global networks. James Cook University JCU (est. 1970) is Australia’s leading university in the tropics, with an explicit (legislated) focus on education and research addressing the critical opportunities and challenges facing natural and human systems in the tropics, world-wide. JCU is a comprehensive university with three main campuses in Townsville, Cairns and Singapore, complemented by regional and remote study centres and research stations. In 2013 there were 22,400 students enrolled, including 12,460 in Townsville, 4,122 in Cairns and 3603 in Singapore. The University’s teaching and research focuses on four themes that resonate powerfully at our regional level and globally through the twin axes of the Asia-Pacific and the tropics: Tropical Ecosystems and Environment Industries and Economies in the Tropics Peoples and Societies in the Tropics Tropical Health, Medicine and Biosecurity The University makes a significant contribution to the regional economy of northern Queensland. It employs 3,453 staff in Townsville (1,596 FTE) and 1,125 staff in Cairns (487 FTE). Recent analysis estimated that the 2012 economic contribution of the University’s operations to Gross State Product of Queensland was $587.1m, with more than 90% of that impact in Townsville ($398m) and Cairns ($137.5m) (WRI 2013). The economic impact of JCU is far greater than its annual expenditure on its operations and expenditure of staff and students. Our primary contribution is through the development of human 2 capital in the region. The presence of graduates in a region demonstrably contributes to higher wages and lower unemployment rates, and provides a more educated and productive workforce. JCU graduates are an important catalyst for growth, economic activity and well-being in northern Queensland (WRI 2013) and the focus on themes critical to northern Australia in the curriculum and research is a significant enabler of place-based expertise that can leverage comparative advantage. Teaching JCU has a crucial role in training the professional workforce for northern Australia. The curriculum maintains a sharp focus on our region and our graduates have made a deep and enduring impact on the workforce capacity of the region. Low participation rates are a complex challenge and JCU continues to develop diverse delivery strategies to improve education outcomes. Provision of excellent professional education and training in regions is a critical strategy to ensure supply and maintenance of a professional workforce in regional and remote areas because a significantly higher proportion of people trained in regional communities will be retained in the region than those trained in capital cities. For example, recent analysis of graduate outcomes in medical training show that 67% of graduates from JCU’s medical school undertook their internship in non-metropolitan and rural areas compared to 17% graduates from medical schools from major metropolitan areas, suggesting that the University is aligned with the workforce needs of the region, in contrast to Australia’s predominantly metropolitan medical schools. JCU is committed to providing access and opportunity to under-represented groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, through raising aspirations, providing alternative pathways into University study and delivering programs in a format that meets the needs of students. Our study centres at Mackay, Thursday Island and Mount Isa are integral to this approach as are innovative programs such as the Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP) and the Indigenous Health Careers Access Program (ICHAP). RATEP received an Office of Learning and Teaching Program Award in 2012. Research JCU is Australia’s leading university in the tropics with internationally recognised research strengths in the fields of environmental science and management, ecology, coral reef science, biology and biochemistry, plant and animal science, geosciences, tropical health and medicine, high speed wind engineering, Indigenous knowledge, linguistics and tourism studies. Over the past 5 years the University has consolidated its position in the authoritative Academic Ranking of World Universities (AWRU), being ranked in the top 400 universities in the world (Top 4%). Approximately 650 of JCU’s staff are active researchers working through a range of multidisciplinary centres of excellence and research institutes. Many of these are of world standing in a wide range of fields with direct importance for northern Australia, including: Sustainable use, conservation and management of tropical coral reef, coastal, rainforest and savannah ecosystems; Understanding impacts of climate change on biodiversity; Marine food security – wild fisheries management and tropical aquaculture; Biodiscovery and molecular development of therapeutics; Biosecurity and managing tropical infectious disease, including managing mosquito-borne disease such as dengue and malaria; 3 Innovative industrial R&D in algal biotechnology biofuels and uses of biochar in soil improvement