I was lucky to speak with a room full of young people at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering this week, at an ‘ask me anything’ session. So many of them were worried that the university system was not delivering, and that, for students, fear of debt was making them think twice about further education and distorting subject choices.

And they are right to be afraid. The long tail of the former Government’s ‘Job Ready Graduates’ program is a nasty mess of significantly reduced funding per student and vastly different fee levels, leaving some students paying almost the total cost of their degrees.

This is not the way the Australian public system is meant to be, but that is a longer discussion, for another day.

Reform to university funding is just one of many areas where the Albanese Government is stalling on big and important change.

In the wake of the 50th Anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government, and its nation-defining reform agenda, the contrast is stark.

Many P&I writers have attacked this issue.

Graeme Stewart argues that one of Whitlam’s great legacies, Medicare, with wither without radical federal–state cooperation.

Denis Altman takes a nuanced look at the what the ALP stands for and concludes that: ‘Albanese’s blandness may be a safer option in the current world’.

Mike Keating cuts to the chase, and makes a considered case for tax reform to raise more revenue, to fund the kind of country we want to live in. He cites Oliver Wendell Holmes: “I like to pay taxation. In this way I buy civilisation.”

Talking of revenue, a hearty thanks to those who answered the call for donations this week. We are making progress, but are still well short of our $250,000 fundraising target, with just two weeks to go. Please dig deep to help us keep the lights on and keep delivering independent, evidence-based articles and podcasts. Please donate here.

This week we are reminded by Amnesty International that the Palestinian genocide is not over. Margaret Reynolds and Stuart Rees list for Government a series of urgent pre-Christmas questions that must be answered if we are to live up to our obligations under international law.

And today Geoff Raby (((LINK PLS))) lays out the new global order, and how slow Australia has been adapting to it.

Until next week.