Higher Education

Macklin slams university fee hike

John Howard's deception regarding the deregulation of university fees has been exposed by a newspaper report.

According to the report in The Australian (April 3), John Howard's Cabinet has approved the partial deregulation of student fees as part of changes to the higher education system.

The decision flies in the face of repeated assurances made by John Howard that there would be no deregulation of student fees by his government.

On October 14, 1999 John Howard told Parliament:

"We have no intention of deregulating university fees...The Government will not be introducing an American-style higher education system...There will be no $100,000 university fees under this Government."

Five days later he repeated the claim, saying:

"We have no intention of deregulating university fees. We have no intention of altering the current HECS arrangement."

Deputy Labor leader Jenny Macklin said Labor totally opposed the deregulation of student fees.

"If this report is accurate, it means the development of an American-style higher education system where university is increasingly for the few rather than the many," Ms Macklin said.

"Some universities will be able to charge a premium for popular courses, forcing students who cannot afford large fees to take on larger debts or study something else. It may even deter some from going to university even though they have the marks."

Ms Macklin said Australian students and their families were already paying some of the highest study costs in the world and the total HECS debt had reached more than $9 billion.

"Student contributions to the cost of their education have gone up 85 per cent under the Howard Government and there are signs that many are buckling under the strain of mounting debt. According to the Howard Government's own figures, almost 20 per cent of the outstanding HECS debt - $1.5billion - may never be repaid."

© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/higher_ed/20030404_fees.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005