University deregulation: Education Minister Christopher Pyne says round two on higher education reform has already started AM By Louise Yaxley Wed 3 Dec 2014, 10:43am Education Minister Christopher Pyne says round two of his fight to deregulate universities has already started. He lost round one yesterday when the Senate voted down his bill 33 to 31. The defeat was decisive - the Upper House voted it down without even letting it get to the second reading stage where amendments could be considered. But Mr Pyne is set to bring in a new bill today to implement his higher education plan, saying the reforms were vitally important for the universities and the nation. But Labors education spokesman, Kim Carr, said it was such a politically unpopular topic, that the Opposition was happy to have the issue drag on. Well fight this all the way through, Senator Carr said. The Governments proposals are at their core fundamentally rotten - they are unfair, they are unnecessary, they are rushed. The real issue here will be that the next election will be around this issue. The Drum: The uni deregulation mess Let me say what other vice-chancellors havent: the deregulation of university fees is about ideology, not budget savings, and it will only hurt students, writes Stephen Parker. We look forward to the contest and we will hang these proposals around the necks of the Liberal Party because they are fundamentally unfair, unnecessary and completely deceptive. The defeated bill meant universities would be able to set their own fees from January 2016, but this setback for the Government means the uncertainty over deregulation will continue through next year while students are considering whether to sign up for degree courses. Greens senator Lee Rhiannon said that was confusing for them and the tertiary sector. The uncertainty for students, for prospective students, their families is considerable, she said. She also questioned how universities would cope with the uncertainty over their budgets and the funding system. Senator Rhiannon said bringing the new bill in today means the Government will still keep savings of more than $4 billion on the books when it releases the mid-year economic update soon. This really is a budget bill. It was always about taking $5 billion out of the public university system, she said. Now by getting it back in legislation theyre managing the embarrassment that they had, because the bill was defeated and they can get that line item back in there. Great reform takes time: Pyne Mr Pyne signalled his determination by saying that great reform takes time and he had a great relationship with the crossbench and would keep lobbying them for support. But his efforts so far have annoyed Palmer United Party Senate leader Glenn Lazarus who said the minister was harassing him by inundating him with text messages. We are opposed to higher education reforms for a number of reasons and no amount of texting, chocolates and red roses from Christopher Pyne will change my mind or the mind of my colleague, Dio Wang, he told the Senate. Mr Pyne said he sent texts because Senator Lazarus was the only crossbencher to refuse to have meetings with him to discuss the changes. The only avenue hes left to communicate with him has been SMS, Mr Pyne said. Once I saw that report, I hope he didnt mind the fact that I sent him a Christmas card today. Im sure he wont but Im happy to keep talking to Senator Lazarus because these reforms are important. Mr Pyne condemned Labor and the Greens for not supporting the bill. The Governments bill has received the historic consensus support of the higher education sector, particularly through Universities Australia, however Labor and the Greens continue to ignore their repeated calls to support reform, he said in an earlier statement. Bill Shorten and Labor have failed in their responsibilities as a credible alternative government to act responsibly and in the best interests of Australias higher education sector and they know it. Senator Carr said the Coalitions plans were not about reform. Its a blatant attempt to take large sums of money away from public universities, he said. They believe that you can rip money out, that you can gouge students to make students pay more. The Government is seeking to cut the guts out of universities and make families pay for it. abc.net.au/news/2014-12-03/pyne-says-round-two-on-university-deregulation-has-started/5935572
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 10:01:20 +0000
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