ACT Universities will apparently lose $79 million in funding due to the Coalitions plans to take $2.3 billion out of the higher education budget.
The Greens want to team up with Labor to block this in the senate.
Despite this being first flagged by Labor… well can’t blame the Greens for trying.
I missed a few episodes, who is friends with who again?
Greens spokesperson for higher education Senator Lee Rhiannon said: “Stopping these cuts are a priority for the Greens. They will cause further damage to what is already a struggling higher education system.
“Higher education not only prepares the Australian economy for the 21st Century, but allows students to lift themselves out of disadvantage.
“Labor first flagged these cuts earlier this year, but now they have opportunity to show that they have responded to community pressure by opposing them in the Senate.
“They will hit universities and students in the ACT hard. These cuts will rip out an estimated $60 million from ACT universities over the next four years. An estimated 2,400 students starting university next year will be impacted by the proposed plan to replace Student Start Up Scholarships with loans in ACT. This will add an extra $19 million to the debt of these students over the course of their degree.
“The Greens, the National Tertiary Education Union, the National Union of Students, Universities Australia and thousands of students all around Australia, have all campaigned strongly against these cuts since they were first announced by Labor earlier this year and now it is crunch time.
“Over the next week we will be engaging thousands of people in key Labor electorates who agree that $2.3 billion dollars should not be cut from the higher education budget.
“We are putting every effort into ensuring the $2.3 billion cuts are not passed in the Senate”, Senator Rhiannon said.
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