AMANDA RISHWORTH MP
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR EDUCATION
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
MEMBER FOR KINGSTON
MICHELLE ROWLAND MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CITIZENSHIP AND MULTICULTURALISM
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS
MEMBER FOR GREENWAY
MEDIA RELEASE
ABBOTT GOVERNMENT ABANDONS HIGHER EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
Shadow Assistant Minister for Higher Education Amanda Rishworth and Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland today briefed ethnic media on the Abbott Government’s cuts to higher education and the SBS.
Tony Abbott’s unfair $5.8 billion cut to universities is of great concern to Australia’s ethnic communities.
These cuts will lead to compounding interest on new and existing student loans, and a crushing $100,000 debt for many students undertaking undergraduate degrees.
All this despite Tony Abbott’s promise just before the last election that under a Coalition Government there would be:
“No cuts to education.”
TONY ABBOTT – ROOTY HILL PEOPLE’S FORUM – WEDNESDAY, 28 AUGUST 2013
Many migrants come to Australia to secure greater educational opportunities for their children.
Because of Tony Abbott’s Budget of broken promises, Australia’s university students from migrant backgrounds will be forced to either shoulder crippling debt or abandon their dream of a university education.
On top of these unfair cuts to higher education, the Abbott Government has ripped $8 million out of the SBS’s already limited funding after promising before the last election:
“No cuts to the ABC or SBS.”
TONY ABBOTT – SBS INTEVIEW – FRIDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2013
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has signalled his intention to rip more money out of the SBS in the coming months as detailed in the Government’s failed Budget, labelling this first round of cuts as an initial “down payment.”
Ethnic communities rely heavily on ethnic specific programing and these cuts threaten this vitally important content.
The Abbott Government is also continuing its assault on the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout. In the 10 weeks prior to the election, the NBN rollout was passing an average of 4,290 brownfields premises per week. During the last 10 weeks, the average has plummeted to about 2,900 premises per week.
Labor recognises how important high-speed fibre broadband is for families and businesses, while the Abbott Government is all too happy to rely on an ageing copper network and see the NBN stall.
FRIDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2014
