23rd Feb 2021, 4:44 PM – Senate Motions - Job-Ready Graduates Package - Universities

The majority voted against a motion introduced by WA Senator Jordon Steele-John (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 2021 is the first year of university study under the Morrison Government's fee hikes and funding cuts,

(ii) the Job-ready Graduates Package more than doubled fees for new students in some of the most popular university courses and slashed Commonwealth contributions to teaching and learning,

(iii) according to Universities Australia, at least 17,300 jobs were lost in the university sector in 2020, and universities lost an estimated $1.8 billion in revenue compared to 2019, and

(iv) early enrolment data from tertiary admissions centres indicates tens of thousands of commencing students will be saddled with more than double the debt they would have accrued without the Morrison Government's fee hikes;

(b) calls on the Morrison Government to fully fund higher education, significantly boost research funding and make university fee-free for all; and

(c) calls on universities' senior management to reject further austerity and do everything in their power to preserve university jobs.