You only had to watch ABC's Q&A this week to see how high passions are running over university funding.
The live program was forced off the air temporarily following a disruptive protest by uni students who fear they're going to take a hit in the federal budget.
It looks likely higher fees will be used to uncap more government-funded places.
The focus on the education portion of Tuesday's budget comes as a surprise.
Until recently, the only interest it was expected to attract was from Gonski fans flicking through the budget papers to 2017/18 to see if there would be a big boost to school funding.
They're likely to be disappointed by that one.
But the release of the review of demand-driven funding and the national commission of audit's recommendations hint at possible big changes in the higher-education sector.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott added to conjecture the last week when he said there would be a funding shift for universities.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne believes students have the capacity to pay more for their tuition. Coincidentally, or not, the commission of audit agrees.
They pay, on average, 40 per cent. Taxpayers contribute the rest.
The commission recommended students pay 55 per cent. Expect the government to go 50:50 if it moves at all.
Mr Pyne also likes the idea of uncapping government funding for sub-bachelor courses and private colleges. That measure was in the demand-driven funding review.
Getting students to pay more would save the government money - the commission declined to estimate how much - that could be used to offer a wider range of demand-driven funding.
But the government is likely to ignore significant changes to student loans, especially as Mr Pyne has called Australia's program the envy of the world.
Labor, the education union and public school advocates say the test of the coalition's commitment to needs-based school funding will be seen in the final year of the forward estimates: the fifth year of the so-called Gonski system.
However, Mr Pyne plans to negotiate a new four-year funding deal in 2017.
Whatever is in the budget for that final year won't necessarily represent how much will go to schools.
And it's unlikely to show the big boost the previous Labor government planned.
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