[Greens-Media] Deregulation + HecsWatch – Pyne’s Higher Education Bill

[Jegatheeswaran, Brami (Jegan) (Sen L. Rhiannon)]

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MEDIA COMMENT
1 December 2014

Deregulation + HecsWatch – Pyne’s Higher Education Bill

Commenting on Christopher Pyne’s amendments to the Higher Education bill Greens higher education spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon said:

“Christopher Pyne’s desperate attempts to force through his damaging plans to deregulate student fees and cut university funding should be scrapped in its entirety because it will hurt students, staff and the community.

“Christopher Pyne’s amendments don’t provide the protection they seem to offer – giving the ACCC ‘price monitoring powers’ will result in a higher education equivalent of the much derided ‘FuelWatch’ scheme.

“This Bill is not about improving higher education in Australia – it is about a $5 billion budget saving, and these amendments will likely see Mr Pyne looking for cuts elsewhere.

“While many crossbenchers are trying to get a positive outcome for students the problem with the compromise approach is that it will likely lead to the worst of both worlds – 100k student fees and across the board funding cuts.

“The best thing the crossbenchers can do for the one million university students, future students, staff and their families is to vote down the bill and start a conversation about how to build up higher education in Australia not rip it apart.

Contact: Brami Jegan 0487 350 880

Brami Jegan
Communications | Strategy
for Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon

72 Campbell Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
p: (02) 9211 9523 | m: 0487 350 880

http://lee-rhiannon.greensmps.org.au/

Our Sydney office is on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora nation.