PERTH, WA: November 29, 1990
Registered by Australia Post Publication No. WAR 0202
Number 2716
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Plague hits monastery • Page 11
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Bold plan for refugees Barry Bishop Hickey of Geraldton has presented to the Federal Minister for Immigration, Mr Gerry Hand a bold plan to help relieve the pressure of the overcrowded Hong Kong refugee camp.
He has offered to settle 100 refugee families on farming property near Geraldton in a joint scheme sponsored by both the Church and Government. The Church would seek to purchase the property and oversee the project if the Government would assist with transport costs and accommodation. The refugee families would operate the farm under a farm manager, and use suitable areas for market gardening. To avoid competition with local markets, sales of produce would be arranged through agents for overseas markets. After the meeting Bishop Hickey said
Scanning the horizon to dream dreams this week was Dr Peter Tannock, seen here on the Alkimos coastline near which it is hoped the University of Notre Dame will have its main campus.
that the Minister expressed interest in the scheme without making any firm commitment to it. He asked for further information concerning economic aspects of the scheme and on ways of ensuring that families stayed in the country for at least two to three years after arrival. "We presented the proposal as a way in which the Australian Government could give the lead to other countries in responding to the appalling conditions in the Hong Kong camp," said Bishop Hickey. "We also presented it as a way of increasing population in rural areas," he said. "It was sad to see the drift from the country to the cities. "It is pleasing to hear recent comments by the Premier of Western Australia pointing to the benefits migrants have brought to the state."
Be ond the horizon During the two-and-ahalf-year negotiation with the State Government for a Notre Dame University site at Alkimos "the government put us to the test", NDA governor and Catholic Education Commission chairman Dr Peter Tannock said this week. "They wanted to know if we were fair dinkum, if we could do it, were there real tangible benefits for WA, was it an
absolutely altruistic operation, and did it have the promise of being a genuine university," Dr Tannock said after a quick inspection on Tuesday of the proposed site area.
He said the government had taken a "courageous decision for the future and one that should be recognised for what it is". When the Alkimos operation got under way
in seven to 10 years' time, he said, WA would receive a lot of benefits — to its higher education, to its northern corridor development and to its economy.
"WA's higher education system has to serve a rapidly growing population and speaking over 50 to 100 years time the richness of WA's higher education will be added to by this unique, differ-
Uni doors will be open to all Alkimos site ering for several thouThe announcement confirms sand students eventually the original intention of will be a significant Notre Dame University to influence on the shaping be a two campus institu- of the surrounding community. tion, Dr Tannock said. Dr Tannock rejected The Fremantle campus that will open in 1992 criticisms that the uniand nurture the project versity will be exclusive. "We have made it clear for its first decade will it is a Catholic permanthat a continue on as ent NDA presence, he university but that does said, "partly because of not mean it is a ghetto our commitment to that university.It will be open city and importantly to to students of all faiths be accessible and of and we welcome that." service to the people of Pointing out that all Perth". students would be On the other hand the required to take the broadacre residential philosophical and theocampus at Alkimos, cat- logical units provided, Dr
Quote
Tannock said: "All we ask is that they be not anti-ethical, negative or hostile — otherwise there is no point in their coming." He noted that NDA is not a pontifical (ie official Church) university "but one that sits in the mainstream of the great university tradition that goes back hundreds of years". "NDA will not be illiberal to what people think or teach. There must be a balanced view on that. It must be a genuine university."
and ent institution."
special
Dr Tannock said the Alkimos campus would help relieve the northern corridor from being just dormitory another suburb. NDA would create a regional development that was special and different but this would depend on overall government planning with which NDA was
NDA will not be the type of private university we have seen in Australia — it will be a unique institution which will attract substantial overseas support, particularly from the United States and its associated institutions, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. The NDA Board and Catholic Church will have to raise substantial capital and unlike other universities and tertiary institutions will not receive ongoing government support. The Alkimos land is the only assistance NDA will receive from the state govern- I ment. The Deputy Premier Mr Ian Taylor
wan a sulnig WW1naalready co-operating. tional flavour." "A university is a long Notre Dame Inditerm stable industry that The was an association ana brings money, creates in the factor mportant i brings employment, to decision nment's gover money to the region not Tannock Dr land, grant only locally but from said. overseas. "They were keen to "Hopefully the univer- attract this university to sity will bring fame and WA and to enable it to fortune to WA. It creates develop here," he said ambassadors. nothing that the Indiana "We want NDA to serve body had appointed WA but we want it to be three of its senior men to a national institution the NDA board.
Many parallels can be drawn
Endowing NDA with 100ha of land in addition to its 50ha campus site at Alkimos has many other parallels, Dr Tannock said this week. The University of WA started with a large land Lake endowment; Karrinyup Golf Club and Hale School and even the Education Catholic Office were other examples of land endowments that have helped build up the institutions. The 100ha endowment would probably be leased in order to provide ongoing funds for the university, in the tradition of other great centres
such as Stanford, he said. 'The land is too precious to lose but on the other hand it needs to be used." He said that the intention of the university to raise some $15 million in public contributions over the next three years was an important aspect of the government's confidence in what the university was doing. In one sense, Dr Tannock said, the endowment is not unlike government grants to other projects where the Catholic Church is involved, be they schools, hospitals, welfare or aged
homes. "On the other hand this is a one-off allocation in which the government says: 'We think it is important to help you get started', but no more." To criticisms that the Catholic Church was associated with NDA, Dr Tannock said: "The Catholic Church is a highly respected institution in our society and has been around for a long time with a large number of Australian adherents. It has performed great service to our society at all levels and this is part of the service."