Published Wednesday, 05 September, 2007 at 01:00 PM
JOINT STATEMENT
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Rod Welford
FEDERAL ANTI-UNIONISM POLICY KILLING SPIRIT OF UNIVERSITIES
The Howard Government’s introduction of voluntary student unionism in July last year had ripped the heart out of Queensland universities, Premier Peter Beattie told Parliament today.
Mr Beattie said the Department of Education, Training and the Arts had sought feedback from Queensland universities and student associations to measure the impact of the policy on university life.
“The Department has reported a number of disappointing trends to Government,” Mr Beattie said.
“Essential services that are critical to students and their families, such as childcare, counselling, medical services, and legal and welfare advice have been scrapped or wound back at unis around the state.
“Many student associations are continuing to struggle on, despite the downturn in memberships, but often with a reduced number of staff.
“There have also been reports of a decline in ‘community spirit’ at university campuses because many activities are now going off-campus.”
Mr Beattie said some examples of the effect of voluntary student unionism that had been reported included:
- Central Queensland University Student Association staff has been reduced from 42 to 15 either through redundancies or attrition, resulting in a loss of about $1 million in wages in the local community.
- James Cook University Student Association was forced to retrench much of its existing staff and there has been a significant reduction in services, including sport and recreation, Orientation Week events and academic advocacy.
- The Schonell Cinema and a café were closed at the University of Queensland and two other refectories, including the only one at the Ipswich campus, are under threat of closure.
- An estimated loss of $6.5 million in student association revenue at Griffith University, resulting in the University providing $1.5 million from its own budget to help off-set the loss and maintain services.
“The student associations are doing a remarkable job to try and maintain some level of service, despite the Howard Government’s anti-unionism stance working to destroy everything our universities stand for,” Mr Beattie said.
Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said Queensland universities were at risk of becoming cold, sterile places stripped of services essential for university life.
“There’s a lot more to a tertiary education than attending lectures and tutorials, there’s also the social and recreational aspects to consider,” Mr Welford said.
“As more of these services are ripped out of our universities, we lose more and more of that ‘community spirit’ that is so integral to a university education.”
ENDS
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Media: 3224 4500 (Premier’s office) or 3237 1000 (Minister Welford’s office)
Mr Beattie said the Department of Education, Training and the Arts had sought feedback from Queensland universities and student associations to measure the impact of the policy on university life.
“The Department has reported a number of disappointing trends to Government,” Mr Beattie said.
“Essential services that are critical to students and their families, such as childcare, counselling, medical services, and legal and welfare advice have been scrapped or wound back at unis around the state.
“Many student associations are continuing to struggle on, despite the downturn in memberships, but often with a reduced number of staff.
“There have also been reports of a decline in ‘community spirit’ at university campuses because many activities are now going off-campus.”
Mr Beattie said some examples of the effect of voluntary student unionism that had been reported included:
- Central Queensland University Student Association staff has been reduced from 42 to 15 either through redundancies or attrition, resulting in a loss of about $1 million in wages in the local community.
- James Cook University Student Association was forced to retrench much of its existing staff and there has been a significant reduction in services, including sport and recreation, Orientation Week events and academic advocacy.
- The Schonell Cinema and a café were closed at the University of Queensland and two other refectories, including the only one at the Ipswich campus, are under threat of closure.
- An estimated loss of $6.5 million in student association revenue at Griffith University, resulting in the University providing $1.5 million from its own budget to help off-set the loss and maintain services.
“The student associations are doing a remarkable job to try and maintain some level of service, despite the Howard Government’s anti-unionism stance working to destroy everything our universities stand for,” Mr Beattie said.
Education and Training Minister Rod Welford said Queensland universities were at risk of becoming cold, sterile places stripped of services essential for university life.
“There’s a lot more to a tertiary education than attending lectures and tutorials, there’s also the social and recreational aspects to consider,” Mr Welford said.
“As more of these services are ripped out of our universities, we lose more and more of that ‘community spirit’ that is so integral to a university education.”
ENDS
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Media: 3224 4500 (Premier’s office) or 3237 1000 (Minister Welford’s office)