2017-05-02
The Australian Greens will vote against the Government’s assault on students and young people in its cruel university funding model.
“By investing less in education and more in coal, this Government is screwing over Australian students and young people, yet again,” Greens education spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“This unfair attack on students and universities ignores one simple fact: education is the third biggest export in Australia. Yet unlike other huge exports like ore and gas, the government seems to be hell-bent on making it harder for universities to flourish.
“For every dollar invested in higher education, the public return is $6. Education as an export was worth $18.8 million in 2015, and unlike fossil fuels, is on a positive growth trajectory. It beggars belief that an ‘innovative’ prime minister would rather hand Adani $1 billion for a coal mine rather than invest in the next generation of teachers, engineers, and doctors.
“Slogging students thousands more for degrees will act as a deterrent, especially to those from low income families or regional areas. Turning people off a university education is a backwards policy from an out-of-touch Government, scared of standing up to their mates in big business and instead targeting those who can least afford it purely for trying to get themselves a good start in their working life.
“Following billions of dollars of cuts in recent years, it’s clear this Government has no interest in investing in the future for our young people.
“The Australian Greens will be voting against this blatant attack on students and we urge Labor and the Crossbench to do the same.”