“We’ve seen very little of substance from this 2018 Budget. The Federal Government used the MYEFO to shelve students with $2.1B worth of cuts and has not dealt with higher education in this budget. Of OECD nations, Australia spends the second-lowest amount on higher education as a percentage of GDP and at the same time, this generation will be the first priced out of the housing market.

“This Government has said that wage growth in the coming years will average 3.25% but we know that simply isn’t the case. Students and other hard-working people haven’t seen a fair rise in wages for years and instead of fixing the structural problems that lead to inequality and to poverty, instead of investing in future generations, instead of increasing Youth Allowance and making education and healthcare more accessible, this Government has chosen a tax cut that undermines the nature of progressive taxation and disproportionately benefits those on higher incomes. The ECU Student Guild wants to see action on unfair industrial laws that underpin inequality in this country. The ECU Student Guild wants to see this Government investing in students instead of leaving them behind.

“We know that this time around, the Government will deliver their election-budget. Next time, we will see more austerity, more education cuts, more tax handouts at the top, higher costs for health and childcare, and further erosion of a tax system built on one basic principle – if you earn more, you should pay more.

“This is a big-business budget that will further-entrench inequality in our country. This is not a good budget for ECU students.”

Stewart Lee

ECU Guild President

(08) 6304 2640

Guild Notices