Socialist Party Australia - Government's attack on students

sp writes "Nelson Review threatens future of our youth
Working class youth have a right to go to Uni too!
No rise in fees! Defend student unionism! No to pattern bargaining!

Nelson Review threatens future of our youth
Working class youth have a right to go to Uni too!

No rise in fees! Defend student unionism! No to pattern bargaining!

We all want the best for the next generation. Every parent is proud if their child goes to university, or Tafe college, or gets an apprenticeship.
The Federal Government, through their Nelson Review into university education provision, wants to go back to the days where tertiary education was an option only available to the rich. Working class and even middle class kids are to reduced to a future of 'work for the dole', or low paid
casual jobs without trade union protection. To the Federal Government, tertiary education is an "industry" and they see their job as pleasing "industry providers" which are the big business-backed university
administrations.
The Nelson Review recommends that universities can increase fees by up to an extra 25%. Students would be able to take out a second loan to cover the gap between what their HECS debt covers and the full amount. This second debt would face market rates of interest. The Review also calls for an rise from 25% to 50% in the number of domestic full fee paying places. This also the rich to get into university despite their marks. But it will also lead to some working class families getting
themselves into great debt to get their child into uni. HECS fees are to be introduced for TAFE students doing bachelor level degrees or who are in courses which articulate with uni courses. The Government also plans to
introduced so-called Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU). This will allow students off from having to pay their now compularsory fee to the student union at the start of the year. Student unions will be not have the
resources to subsidise all the services now available to students and will undermine their ability to organise representation for them and resist Government/Administration attacks. University staff are to be banned from pattern bargaining, which could see their wages fall behind (see CFMEU article for details on why pattern bargaining must be defended).
We say that education is a basic right in a civilised society. It should be well-funded and free for all. No worker begrudges their taxes going into the well-being of the next generation. Far better than wasting $700 million sending troops to fight Bush's war in Iraq or subsidising superannuation packages for overpaid politicians.
The Socialist Party believes that a massive campaign of opposition to further attacks on access to uni for ordinary people must be waged now.
Students deserve the support of workers and unions and the whole community to stop these changes. We won't get a second chance.

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