The student union at the University of Tasmania, the Tasmania University Union (TUU) is calling upon the federal, state and local governments to work with the university to establishing a long-term plan for the future of accommodation for students.
President of the TUU, Clark Cooley said “With university housing capacity at 100%, students, particularly international students, are finding it impossible to secure affordable accommodation while they undertake their studies”
“Forcing students to live in hostels and other temporary accommodation, like AirBnB, while they study is completely unsustainable. If we’re going to continue to expand the amount of students studying at the university we need to seriously invest in affordable and accessible accommodation.”
Mr. Cooley continued “The private industry has to play its part in the building of new accommodation for students. Universities like RMIT in Melbourne and other international counterparts work with private developers to build student oriented accommodation, which can help ease the initial financial cost of building new infrastructure”
Emil LaBuff is a exchange student from the United States who is currently studying at the University of Tasmania. Like other international students, Emil found it difficult to obtain stable accommodation while undertaking his studies.
“I applied for University accommodation before I arrived however it wasn’t available, it took me nearly a month after I had arrived in Tasmania before I could find an apartment. I stayed at a hostel for that time without my new apartment.”
Mr Cooley concluded “Without a long-term plan for student accommodation, the university will not be able to continue to attract international students and risks loosing its high standing global reputation”
The Tasmania University Union (TUU) was founded in 1899 as the representative body for all students of the University of Tasmania. The TUU seeks to advance the rights and protect the interests of students by ensuring the their voices are heard by parliamentarians, policy makers, university leadership and the wider community.
Clark Cooley President Tasmania University Union
