Mr Abbott's true colours when it comes to education
Simon Crean posted Thursday, 19 August 2010
Two days before Australia votes, Tony Abbott has shown his true colours.
In an effort to try to prove he can bring the Budget back into surplus, Mr Abbott has admitted that a Coalition Government would unleash round after round of savage cuts to education in Australia.
He was hoping no one would notice this close to an election, but this is a signpost of what is to come if Tony Abbott becomes Prime Minister.
The cuts are aimed where Australia can least afford it: at our apprentices, our most disadvantaged schools, and our disadvantaged students trying to access university.
How did Mr Abbott do it?
Firstly, he ripped almost $1 billion from apprenticeship training programs. When combined with cuts he has already announced, this would abolish 461,000 places for apprentices, trainees and other workers trying to build their skills to get and keep a good job.
It would also mean more than 80,000 people who are currently in training, apprenticeships and traineeships will have public funding for their training cut part way through.
Tony Abbott didn’t stop at apprentices though – he also ripped $330 million from the Smarter Schools National Partnership for the most disadvantaged schools in Australia.
This is the equivalent of almost 1000 teachers per year and will mean reduced funding for 1,270 government, 181 Catholic and 91 Independent schools.
Our disadvantaged schools need more help, not less help.
That’s why Federal Labor is going to reward schools that deliver the greatest improvements across a number of different areas and reward our hardworking teachers.
Mr Abbott is also cutting $227 million in funding to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds accessing university. This cut to universities will hit over 200,000 students each year from disadvantaged backgrounds – denying support for them to go to uni.
Federal Labor, meanwhile, has a goal to create a higher education system that allows more students from across the community to achieve a higher education qualification.
For example, in 2012 a re-elected Gillard Labor Government will fund a place for every student who is accepted into a public university.
Preliminary estimates show that there will be up to a 7.5 per cent increase in Commonwealth-supported places across the sector in 2010 – a potential increase of 45,000 full time equivalent students since 2008.
Federal Labor is also going to provide more income support for students. All students on Youth Allowance who do not already receive an existing Federal scholarship will receive $1,300 this year, paid in two instalments of $650.
Unlike Tony Abbott, Federal Labor wants to support our apprentices and make sure they have the skills needed to get a good job.
Australia needs more skilled workers. A skilled workforce is more productive, and this puts less pressure on inflation and helps our economy grow.
Such savage cuts to support for the country’s apprentices shows how reckless Mr Abbott is with the
In his desperate attempts to show he won’t blow the budget, Mr Abbott has made it clear that he’ll cut the services hard working Australians rely on.
Don’t risk your family’s future, or Australia’s, with Mr Abbott.
Join the discussion below – what would Mr Abbott’s cuts to vital education services mean to you and your family?
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