Government should rule out enforcing uni cuts that have failed to pass the Senate

Commenting on news reports that the Education Department has advised at least one university that the Abbott government's 20 per cent cut to universities will go ahead in 2016, despite legislation failing to pass the Senate, Greens spokesperson for Tertiary, technical and further education said:

"The Abbott government should immediately rule out cutting funding to universities given the legislation has failed to pass Parliament twice.

"Education Minister Christopher Pyne should also come clean as to whether he has directed the Education Department to write to universities saying that funding will be cut by 20 per cent in the next year.

"This is a highly irresponsible by the government and is a huge waste of time for universities who should have the resources to provide high quality teaching not fight the Abbott government's political battles.

"It will also cause anxiety amongst students and parents who don't know what other measures the government might arbitrarily introduce - like fee deregulation.

"Australian Universities are already severely underfunded. We sit well below the OECD average in regards to public higher education funding. 

"The Education Minister should give up his ill-fated dream of wrecking public higher education in Australia.

Contact - Brami Jegan for Lee Rhiannon 0487 350 880