Daniel James

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

So a lot of secrecy and uncertainty around all this, but what we do know is that universities are spending a lot on consultants, which begs the question, shouldn't university management people like the vice-chancellor and the people on the university council have a sense of how to make savings or where to spend money or how to structure their business?

I mean, isn't that their job?

So, Rick, what impact do you think all this will have on the university sector, the reliance on consultancy firms, the lack of funding from federal government to universities?

What does the future of the university sector look like at the moment?

Rick, thank you so much for your time.

7am, we'll be back tomorrow with an episode on the Iran war and how it's created not just a humanitarian and economic crisis, but an environmental catastrophe as well.

I'm Daniel James.

Thanks for listening.

I'm Daniel James and you're listening to 7am.

This week the Albanese government has been forced to confront a growing sense of instability with fresh warnings from the IMF about the global economy including the potential impact on Australia.

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It's Saturday, April 18.

Paul, this week we had a pretty dire warning from the IMF that a global recession is looming as Jim Chalmers met with economic ministers in DC.

How bad is it looking for Australia and for the government?

I can't think of a more sort of complex time in which to prepare a federal budget in recent memory, Paul.