Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the government’s plan to hike up university fees should be scrapped, following confirmation in the Senate Covid-19 Committee this week that no government modelling had been done on the effect of changing course costs.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Not only are these fee hikes grossly unfair for students, there’s actually no evidence that they will do what the government intends them to: encourage more students to take up STEM and other ‘priority’ courses.

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the government’s ‘JobTrainer’ scheme is heavy on spin and hugely hypocritical for a government that has overseen the marketisation and disintegration of public vocational education.

Senator Faruqi said:

“This is a government that has systematically gutted public TAFE over many years.

“We have seen the failures of government-subsidised, for-profit vocational education. We should not be going down the same path.

Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has labelled today’s news of cuts to approximately 500 full-time equivalent jobs at UNSW, and the amalgamation of nine faculties into six, as devastating and infuriating.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Hundreds of hard-working UNSW staff will bear the disastrous consequences of the Liberals’ callous abandonment of higher education.

“The Morrison government has no shame or sense. Australian universities are in crisis and frankly it’s the Liberals who are squarely to blame.

The Greens have said that returning to expensive fee-paying childcare today will harm families, disproportionately impact women and threaten the viability of early learning as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.

The federal government should extend free childcare and ensure all early childhood education and care workers are eligible for JobKeeper payments.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Australian Greens spokesperson for Education, said:

“It’s downright cruel and shortsighted to scrap free childcare before practically every other Covid-19 support measure.

Australian Greens spokesperson for Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has said analysis released today shows once again that federal and state governments have monumentally failed to adequately fund public schools.

Data published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has shown that, over the last decade, public funding has continued to flow heavily to private schools.

Senator Faruqi said:

“Well-funded public education should be the backbone of our education system, but public schools are getting a raw deal.

"Degrees should cost students zero dollars," Greens spokesperson for Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, said this morning in response to the "government's pathetic uni fee hikes".

“Arts graduate Minister Tehan's jobs rhetoric is empty. He's part of a Government that would rather throw a tantrum at humanities students and slam them with higher fees than do the hard work of creating jobs across the economy.

Our amendment on sheet 8975 is very similar to the government amendment which has just passed, and it was one that Dr Helen Haines introduced in the other place. I seek leave to withdraw that amendment.

Leave granted.

The PRESIDENT: The question now is that the amendment on sheet 8977 revised, circulated by the Australian Greens, be agreed to.

Australian Greens' circulated amendment—

(1) Clause 9, page 6 (after line 16), after subclause (3), insert:

Requirement for vocational education and training representative

 I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 674 standing in my name.

Leave granted.

Senator FARUQI: I move the motion as amended:

That—

(1) There be laid on the table by 7.20 pm on 17 June 2020:

I rise on behalf of the Greens to speak to the National Skills Commissioner Bill 2020. The bill before us today implements one of the key recommendations of the Joyce review, which is to set up a skills commission at the core of the skills system. The Joyce review examined Australia's vocational education and training system to strengthen skills and reported in March 2019. The National Skills Commissioner Bill 2020 establishes a new statutory office to be known as the National Skills Commission, which is to be headed by the National Skills Commissioner.

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) Australian universities are facing massive losses in revenue as a result of falling enrolments during the COVID-19 crisis, and

(ii) universities across the country have begun to announce job cuts, with up to 30,000 jobs expected to be lost;

(b) calls on vice-chancellors to prioritise retaining staff, including those on casual and fixed-term contracts, in their responses to revenue losses, and

(c) calls on the government to include all universities in the JobKeeper scheme.