Universities face cuts as their top brass take home $ 12m pay
THE vice- chancellors and the top executives at Queensland’s three biggest universities take home a combined $ 12 million pay each year.
The three vice- chancellors are on almost double the Prime Minister’s wage of $ 522,000, while several of the top executives also take home more than the nation’s leader.
Analysis of the salaries follows the government’s announcement of university funding cuts of 2.5 per cent a year for two years and an increase in course fees for students of up to $ 3600.
While some universities criticised the move, saying it shifted education costs from government to the students, QUT’s vice chancellor Peter Coaldrake said many other industries had changed the way they operated for efficiency, so universities were no different.
Under the cuts, University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University are each set to lose about $ 15 million in government funding.
Annual reports show University of Queensland vice- chancellor Peter Hoj’s salary package is $ 1.16 million.
Together with the six top management positions, it is a $ 4.5 million remuneration bill.
At QUT, Professor Coaldrake is on a $ 1.089 million package and combined with the five top executives, the university’s top brass take home a combined $ 4 million.
It was similar at Griffith where vicechancellor Ian O’Connor who is on $ 1.02, while the salaries of its top five staff brought its total executive salary bill up to $ 3.5 million.
Jame Cook University boss Sandra Harding is on about $ 950,000, while University of Southern Queensland VC Janet Verbyla pulls in $ 640,000.
UQ acting vice- chancellor Aidan Byrne said the institution had a $ 1.75 billion budget, more than 6700 staff and 52,000 students.
“The Vice- Chancellor’s remuneration reflects his position as the effective CEO of a Queensland- based enterprise with global reach and is consistent with packages offered by other leading Australian universities,” he said.