One of the biggest impediments to Australia taking full advantage of an extended boom in commodities is the lack of university graduates in disciplines like geosciences, mining engineering and the like. But the focus of the Howard Government and now the Rudd-led ALP opposition on education in the lead up to next year's federal election provides the mining industry with a perfect opportunity to turn things around. In The Australian on November 22 this year, Gregory Webb, a senior lecturer and researcher with the Queensland University of Technology's school of natural resource sciences, observed that "geosciences are poorly understood by Australian students because they are very rarely taught in high school".
展开▼
