Sydney residents urge senators to block the budget

The meeting called on federal senators to block the budget in its entirety.

NSW Greens MP Jamie Parker organised a “Bust the Budget” meeting for local residents on June 3 at Glebe Primary School.

Speakers addressed the extreme nature of Abbott’s budget, its disingenuous rationale and the need to fight back.

Parker told the crowd of about 120 people that there will be “a tsunami of funding cuts in NSW” that will have “far-reaching effects”, especially for the community’s most disadvantaged.

“The [Tony] Abbott government's cuts will have a huge impact in NSW for decades to come, with health, education, research and affordable housing being hit particularly hard.

“Millions of dollars of cuts to NSW will be translated into a reduction in services, and this must be stopped.”

Other speakers included Greens spokesperson on higher education Senator Lee Rhiannon; NSW Secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union Genevieve Kelly; Emeritus Professor of Economics at University of Sydney Frank Stilwell; Secretary of the Fire Brigade Employees Union Jim Casey and University of Technology Students’ Association Education vice-president Chris Gall.

A local residents group committed to campaigning against the budget was set up.

The meeting unanimously passed a motion, moved from the floor, which called on the federal Labor Party, the Australian Greens, the Palmer United Party and all remaining non-aligned senators to “recognise the Abbott government has no mandate for its austerity budget, and consequently, to block the federal budget in its entirety”.

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