AUSTRALIA

Education minister flags possible delay on university bill
Australia’s Christopher Pyne has said the government would take as long as it needs to negotiate its massive shake-up of higher education with the Palmer United Party, signalling that it is prepared to sacrifice its 2016 start date in order to get the legislation passed, write Julie Hare and Andrew Trounson for The Australian.Senate debate on the higher education reform bill was largely sidelined last week by the passage of the Foreign Fighters legislation and the Direct Action climate change legislation. The Senate now doesn’t sit for another three weeks and the government is running out of time to get the bill passed this year and ensure its scheduled 2016 start date for the deregulation of university fees and extension of government subsidies to non-university colleges and Technical and Further Education, or TAFE, providers.
Full report on The Australian site