Daniel Hurst, political correspondent
theguardian.com, Wednesday 21 May 2014
Visit to Deakin University coincided with planned nationwide student demonstrations against budget cuts to higher education
Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne: students are protesting against plans to cut the public funding of university courses by 20% on average and deregulate fees. Photograph: Daniel Munoz/AAP
Tony Abbott and Christopher Pyne have cancelled a planned visit to Victoria's Deakin University on Wednesday, citing fears about their safety during the national day of student protests against higher education cuts.
The prime minister and the education minister’s visit to the Geelong campus to open a research facility coincided with nationwide demonstrations organised by the National Union of Students.
Students are protesting against the government’s budget plans to cut the public funding of university courses by 20% on average and deregulate fees, allowing universities to charge as much as they wish.
“The advice from the Australian Federal Police was that they were concerned about the safety, particularly of innocent bystanders, because [Wednesday] is the students' national day of action, so-called, where they're protesting against having to contribute more to their own education,” Pyne told the ABC’s Lateline program.
“So the prime minister made a decision, and his office, that it would be wiser to not go and create that tumult at Deakin University, so students can get on with their studies unmolested by the Socialist Alternative, which seem quite intent on shutting down democracy in Australia.”
Pyne said the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, and the former Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella had been targeted by protesters at universities recently. He said people should be free to express their opinions without being "molested or assaulted".
"It's a great shame of course in the modern era that this would be the case but since the Q&A show about two weeks ago it's been clear that the Socialist Alternative students are trying to make a point and shut down other people's opinions in the debate, which is a great pity."
Protests are planned in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart and Canberra on Wednesday. The National Union of Students said the protests were “to stand against the privatisation and degradation of our universities, and against increases to fees”. At some of the events, protesters plan to burn budget papers.
The NUS national president, Deanna Taylor, said the protests were intended to be peaceful.
"The prime minister and minister Pyne are trying to portray protesting students as violent rabble rousers out to cause trouble," she said. "They’re trying to suggest that we are spoiled brats that don’t know how good we’ve got it, and are trying to take taxpayers for a ride, but we know that the government’s plans to will ruin higher education as we know it, and destroy future generations’ opportunity to access university."
Labor and the Greens have voiced their opposition to the higher education overhaul, which they argued would increase costs for students and move towards a two-tiered system in which a person’s wealth determined the education they could receive.
Clive Palmer signaled his opposition on Monday, indicating the government may not be able to secure passage of the legislation through the Senate. Palmer went further by calling for the abolition of the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (Hecs) so Australians could enjoy free university education.
Pyne said the sales job had “only just begun” and Palmer had not thought through his position.
"I guess – in a nirvana paradise kind of world – no students would have to pay for their university degrees, there'd be free housing for everyone, free health for everyone, free schooling for everyone, but unfortunately there isn't that paradise on earth anywhere,” Pyne said.
The minister defended his reforms, saying the planned expansion of funding for sub-bachelor programs would "spread opportunity to more students". He said universities could not thrive without more revenue.
Pyne said students were currently contributing only about 40% towards the cost of their degrees despite earning 75% more on average and deriving a "massive personal benefit" from attending university.
"We're not a socialist country so we don't only have public contributions,” Pyne said.
