Together we can stop the uni funding cuts

Well it’s on!  The Higher education bill has been listed on the agenda for debate in the House of Representatives and is expected to arrive in the senate by the end of this week.

Even Universities Australia has joined in the fight (visit the Keep It Clever Australia Facebook page for further information from Universities Australia).

This legislation, if enacted, will change higher education for generations to come.  In essence, it will:-

• rip a massive $2.8 billion from universities across Australia, including an estimated $23 million from SCU over the next four years;
• require all universities to lift student fees;
• reduce retrospectively the HECS repayment salary threshold from $53,000 to just $42,000 for all students and former students, and
• introduce fees for tertiary preparation courses to disadvantaged potential students.

However, together we can stop this “pay more, get less” policy for our regional universities.  Basically, all we need to do is to convince a handful of crossbench senators to vote NO.

SCPA have made it very easy for you to email all 11 crossbenchers about the likely impact of this legislation on our SCU and our regional communities.  If you haven’t already done so, then please visit our “Our Education, Our Future” campaign website and click on the link to email a crossbench senator or 11 today!  This literally will take just a minute or two of your time.