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Queensland is the only state of Australia that does not have an operating radio telescope facility.
Regional universities such as the University of Southern Queensland would benefit immensely in their active space and astronomy research if there was a radio telescope facility built in regional Queensland. As you know the visible light spectrum is only a minute part of the overall electromagnetic spectrum, with radio waves being the most easily transmitted through the Earth’s atmosphere. There is so much of the universe to discover at radio wavelengths, it really brings with it a whole new epoch of discoveries and allows us to better understand the structure and size of the universe. With regional Queensland scoring the highest for the reigning coalition government during the last federal election, I see no reason why it cannot be rewarded with some funding for a new radio astronomy station. Somewhere on the Darling Downs near Toowoomba would be an ideal location for this new project, were it to be funded. [Article submitted to International Space Investment Initiative: design consultation at the Australian Space Agency - 20/06/2019] Australia needs to look seriously into the way it funds universities.
Many gifted students are put off going to university because of the skyrocketing tuition fees, which for some courses at universities like USQ are in excess of $10,000 per year. Those who do take the plunge and go are left with a crippling student HELP debt which is paid back after they graduate and for many years into their working lives. It is no consolation to students to know of the egregious salaries of university vice-chancellors, whose pay is in excess of half a million dollars a year. What are they doing to help relieve the burden of skyrocketing costs? It is my firm belief that university education should be free for the student, and for the universities, which are essentially major enterprises, to be funded by the taxpayer through a progressive taxation system. Maybe there should be a higher education levy for high income earners, like the Medicare levy. That would help with the cost of funding the universities, public and private throughout Australia, and relieve the burden on students, many of whom can only dream of earning a decent income once they graduate. |
70m radio telescope dish
AuthorDave Fredericks is a past student of the University of Southern Queensland's physical sciences major in the Bachelor of Science. ArchivesCategories |
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