The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, joins National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Tasmanian Secretary, Dr John Kenny, and Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson to unveil their plan to remind voters on election day about Labor and Liberal cuts to tertiary education.
Mr Wilkie has been a vocal critic of Labor’s most recent $2.3bn cuts to higher education, which are also supported by the Liberals. The NTEU has officially endorsed Mr Wilkie for the seat of Denison as part of their national “vote smart against dumb cuts” campaign.
Mr Wilkie and the NTEU will distribute posters, stickers, placards and how-to-vote leaflets at polling booths on election day.
The election material will inform voters about Labor and Liberal’s devastating cuts to universities and university students, which UTas Vice-Chancellor Peter Rathjen has estimated will cost 150 jobs at the university.
Mr Wilkie said the cuts to tertiary education were bad policy.
“I’ve had a lot of feedback from members of the community that they’re deeply concerned about the cuts to tertiary education,” Mr Wilkie said.
“The sort of material we’ll be distributing on election day will remind voters about Labor and Liberal university cuts, and I think a lot of people will be reluctant to give their vote to political parties with such shortsighted policies.
The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Tasmanian Secretary, Dr John Kenny, and Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson
