Andrew Norton (born 7 July 1965) is an Australian author and researcher. He was a Research Fellow at the

Centre for Independent Studies The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is an Australian libertarian think tank founded in 1976 which specialises in public policy research. It is based in Sydney and focuses on classical liberal issues such as free markets and limited gover ...

, and Policy and Government Relations Adviser at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

. He is former director of the CIS's Liberalising Learning research programme and editor of its journal ''Policy''. Norton was the Program Director of Higher Education at the

Grattan Institute Grattan Institute is an Australian public policy think tank, established in 2008. The Melbourne-based institute is non-aligned, defining itself as contributing "to public policy in Australia as a liberal democracy in a globalised economy." It is ...

from 2011 to 2019.

Biography

From November 1997 to December 1999, Norton was the Higher Education Adviser to Dr David Kemp, Federal Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs. He was a fortnightly columnist for

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northe ...

(1996–97) and a monthly columnist for The Education Age (2003). From 2003 to 2006 he blogged regularly at Catallaxyfiles. Norton holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(First Class Honours) and

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

. During the 2001 election, Andrew Norton was interviewed on ''SBS Worldview'', ''ABC Life Matters'', and ''The 7:30 Report'' concerning his opinions on ALP's higher education funding plans. Various newspapers and magazines have published articles by Norton about his market-based approach to higher education. He joined the

in 2011. In 2013 he was appointed by then Minister for Education Christopher Pyne to review the previous government's decision to remove controls on the number of government-supported bachelor's degree students in Australian public universities, known as demand driven funding. His co-reviewer was David Kemp. The review of the demand driven system was released in April 2014. The main recommendations to keep and extend the system were accepted by the government. However the government's legislation, which also included deregulation undergraduate fees, was twice defeated in the Australian Senate. Norton is also known for proposing reforms to the Australian student loan scheme. His suggestion to recover student debt from deceased estates was ruled out by then Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

in May 2014. However, in October 2015 the new Minister for Education,

Simon Birmingham Simon John Birmingham (born 14 June 1974) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since 2007. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in the Morrison Government as Minister for Finance from 2020 to 2022 and as M ...

, again raised the possibility of changing loan repayment rules. Norton left the Grattan Institute in July 2019. He subsequently became Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

Books

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References

Grattan Institute, higher education page
* ''The Trouble with Radicals'', critical review by Tom Clark
Australian University Review (AUR) 46(1):40–41, Aug 2003
accessed 30 March 2006
PDF

Norton's website and blog

External links

Interview with Andrew Norton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Andrew 1965 births Australian male bloggers Australian columnists Australian journalists Living people Australian libertarians