Students rally against fees and cuts

By Sean Healy

A week of action called by the National Union of Students against cuts to tertiary education and student fees featured rallies and actions across Australia last week.

From Sydney, Mel Bull reports that 150 students rallied on the library lawns at the University of NSW.

Speakers from the UNSW branch of the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union, the UNSW sexuality department, NUS and the law faculty condemned the university council decision to introduce up-front fees.

The rally then moved to the chancellery, where students attempted to present Vice-Chancellor John Niland with a 1000-signature petition against the decision. The rally then moved to the Australian Graduate School of Management, a privately run school on campus where up-front fees average $25,000 a year, and staged a sit-in lasting several hours.

Will Williams reports from Canberra that a rally was organised in Civic by the Cross Campus Education Network, with students and other community groups joining after actions on their own campuses.

The rally focused on defence of public education, and primarily the large funding cuts to Abstudy in the last federal budget.

Gordon Briscoe, from the Jabal Centre at the Australian National University, which represents Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, said “Abstudy cuts affect the capacity of Aboriginal students to get a choice in where they study. The cuts affect Australian `heritage' as much as being an attack on Aborigines.”

Demonstrations were also held in Melbourne and Brisbane.

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