Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that education has been smashed by a budget hostile to public schools, universities, TAFE, and early childhood education and care.
Senator Faruqi said:
“This is a government hostile to public education and its final budget proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“We are witnessing the shameful impacts of the government’s university fee hikes and funding cuts they pushed through parliament 18 months ago. The higher education funding decline continues with a 5 per cent cut over the next year alone. This government is an enemy of our public universities.
“TAFE has been sidelined yet again, when it must be put front and centre of any fresh investment in vocational education. TAFE must be fully-funded and made fee-free for all.
“Funding for public schools has been reduced by $559 million over the next three years while private schools are seeing an increase of more than $2 billion. This is just obscene.
“We have to fully-fund our public schools and invest in urgent capital works but this budget simply provides a pre-election gift for overfunded private schools.
“Early childhood education and care has been completely neglected in this budget with nothing to help parents with expensive fees and barely anything to support the sector.
“The Liberals have a shameless privatisation and cost-cutting agenda when it comes to public education, and the sooner we boot them out, the better. Bring on the election.”