Parochialism in Hobart education campaign

By Sarah Stephen and Mathew Munro

HOBART — On May 22, Hobart had the largest protest rally against university funding cuts for over a decade. Almost 2000 people from all political backgrounds — students, university staff and the vice-chancellor, and state politicians from the ALP, Liberal Party and the Greens — joined forces.

The size and breadth of the rally have been attributed to the fact that, because Tasmania has only one university, many people feel that the state will be disproportionately affected by the proposed cuts.

Articles in the Mercury newspaper before the May 22 rally argued that this would force many students to move interstate. Universities in other states, it went on, have more room to specialise and trim their courses than the University of Tasmania.

A subsequent editorial went even further, stating that universities in other states could probably do with a few cuts which "would allow a degree of rationalisation, with some institutions cutting their less popular courses, leaving the field open to their competitors".

Continuing this line of argument, Liberal deputy premier Sue Napier told the May 22 rally that Tasmania should be "quarantined" from the cuts.

As the education campaign here develops, it is becoming clearer that not all the forces involved object to the essence of the Howard government's agenda. Their opposition to the education cuts is based on pure parochialism, not the defence of education as a right which should be accessible to all. Unless this parochialism is overcome it will inevitably divide and weaken the anti-cuts campaign.

From GLW issue 234