A key backer of the proposal to uncap university fees has taken an apparent swipe at the government's sales job saying the case for change hasn't been properly made.
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Sydney University Vice-Chancellor Michael Spence wants the Senate to pass the government's bill to uncap university fees because he says the sector's reliance on the higher fees paid by international students is "morally hazardous" and "unsustainable".
He vowed to redistribute a portion of the extra money reaped through higher fees to helping poorer students cope with the cost of living and studying.
But the legislation appears headed for defeat because it is opposed by Labor and the Palmer United Party. The PUP backs free higher education – a position also endorsed by Dr Spence on Monday.
Asked why the community and Senate remained opposed to uncapping uni fees, Dr Spence said "I'm not sure the case has been strongly made".
He called on the community to shake off its romanticism about the notion of free higher education. "People have pretended that we live in Whitlam era, we don't live in the Whitlam era, most people pay and pay quite heavily," he said.
He said the model of relying on full-fee paying overseas students was not viable and a "moral hazard".
The University of Sydney is refusing to outline how much a degree could cost in a deregulated environment but the Vice-Chancellor again scotched estimates of a $100,000 course. Dr Spence said based on modelling of a $16,000 per year flat fee, first proposed by the University of Western Australia, his university could double its financial support scholarship program to $160 million.
"We have done enough modelling to say that without charging like a wounded bull we are confident we can offer an equity package that looks like this," the Vice-Chancellor said.
He said living costs, and not the cost of the degree itself, was often the barrier for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"If you talk to people who are weighing up going to university, the number one thing they are interested in is how they can live because they put the HECS off into the never-never," he said.
Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne welcomed Sydney University's announcement and said it was "exactly the sort of expansion of opportunity and equity that the government's reforms will make possible".
"It will allow more students to go to university from disadvantaged backgrounds than ever before. Creating more opportunity is a key reason why senators should vote to pass the Higher Education and Research and Reform Bill".
Mr Pyne denied Fairfax Media's report that he will back down on slashing funding and increasing student loans in return for uncapping fees. He has five weeks to negotiate a compromise before the end of the parliamentary year.
