MEDIA RELEASE
HIGHER EDUCATION REVIEW CONCLUDES – WHERE ARE
LABOR’S IDEAS?
27 October 2002, MIN 222/02
Labor’s Education Spokesperson, Jenny Macklin, told Channel 7
this morning that Labor has nothing to contribute to the debate
about the future of higher education in Australia.
Reporter: The talk is fine, but the concrete ideas,
when will we see those?
Macklin: "Well, you’ll see them progressively over the
next twelve months or so."
I have repeatedly invited Federal Labor to contribute to the
Review of Higher Education which has been conducted throughout this
year.
Seven discussion papers have been released prompting more than
700 submissions (including five State Labor governments). There have
been 50 forums and 800 hours of consultation. However, Federal Labor
has chosen to simply attack from the sidelines.
Labor frontbencher Lindsay Tanner told The Age newspaper last
week that Labor’s knowledge nation is now discredited:
"…we have allowed
our society to become too focused…on a narrow agenda - which, in
some respects, Labor's Knowledge Nation reflected in the past
election."
The Age, 23 October 2002
Thus far Labor has promised additional spending of about $1.2
billion for higher education – without a word on how this would be
funded.
Labor is promising to prevent Australian students from taking a
fee paying place at a university, which instead will be filled by a
student from overseas. However, at the same time Jenny Macklin still
hasn’t said a word about the Victorian Government’s introduction of
full fee paying TAFE degrees for domestic Australian students.
Labor has yet again missed its opportunity to make a meaningful
contribution.
For further information:
|
|
|
| Dr Nelson’s Office: |
Ross Hampton |
0419 484 095 |
| |
|
|
|
