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
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