Students across Australia will hit the streets tomorrow …

… to defy the Turnbull Government’s $2.2 billion cuts to higher education

The National Union of Students has organised a National Day of Action for university students. Protests around the country will be demanding an end to funding cuts, no changes to the HECS repayment threshold or lifetime debt cap, and free education.

‘Students are furious about what’s happening to higher education in Australia,’ said NUS Education Officer Con Karavias. ‘This Government is ripping billions from education while ploughing billions more into coal mines, corporate tax cuts and arms manufacturers. Students are just meant to accept these appalling priorities but we won’t. From Cairns to Canberra we’re coming out to fight the Liberals’ anti-student agenda.’

‘These cuts come in a context where many universities around the country are already threadbare,’ said Karavias. ‘Individual universities are now losing tens of millions of dollars in funding, and this will only lead to a lower quality of education for thousands of students.’

For many students the Government’s prioritisation of military spending over education has been particularly galling, and ‘Books not Bombs’ will be a slogan of the protest.

‘For the Liberals, machines of death trump places of learning,’ said Karavias. ‘As students we don’t just care about the cost of our education, but about the future of the society we inhabit. We’re raising our voices for a world where knowledge and understanding matter more than bombs and tanks.’

Wednesday the 21st of March students will be protesting in seven locations across Australia, with rallies in Newcastle (21/3) and Perth (26/3).
Mark Pace National President | National Union of Students