Senator Kim Carr

A year ago, Australians went to the polls with Tony Abbott’s promises ringing in their ears.

Among them was:

“I want to make it absolutely crystal clear. Overall health and education funding will be maintained.”

TONY ABBOTT – PRESS CONFERENCE, SYDNEY – 22 AUGUST 2013

How education funding is maintained by slashing $5.8 billion from higher education is something the Abbott Government has yet to adequately explain.

It wasn’t a one-off promise. Before the election Tony Abbott promised “no cuts to education” so often he sounded like a stuck record*.

But on Budget night all his promises proved to be empty words.

For someone who was going to be a “no surprises” Prime Minister, Tony Abbott’s Budget surprised the Australian people big time.

Now – a year on from all those hollow promises – the full extent of the Abbott Government’s agenda is crystal clear:

• Cutting funding for undergraduate places by up to 37 per cent
• Deregulating fee levels, allowing universities to charge what they like
• Introducing a compounding real interest rate of up to 6 per cent for all HECS-HELP debts – future and existing
• Cutting funding for research training by 10 per cent and introducing fees for PhDs

All of this from a government which promised:

“We will be a no surprises, no excuses government, because you are sick of nasty surprises and lame excuses from people that you have trusted with your future...”

TONY ABBOTT – CAMPAIGN LAUNCH, BRISBANE – 25 AUGUST 2013

SUNDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2014