The Liberals’ cuts to universities

Overnight, we've seen more research that shows that the majority of Australians are opposed to the Government's plan to cut university funding, and to make students pay more for a poorer quality degree. In fact, over 60 per cent of Australians have said that they are opposed to the Government's plans to cut university funding and to make students pay higher fees. It's no wonder - parents understand the importance of making sure their own children have a great education, but most people, even people who don't have kids, in a situation where they're facing higher university fees, understand that this is an investment in our nation - that we can't be a strong economic performer internationally if we continue to cut funding for our universities, our TAFEs, our schools, and so on.

I also wanted to make a few comments this morning about the energy crisis engulfing the Government. Here, we have a Government in its fifth year, that promised before coming to office that the average family would be paying $550 a year less on their power bills, when in fact the average family, in Sydney, today, is paying $1000 a year more for their energy. Now, the reason for this is plain. In its fifth year, this Government has overseen taking 4 000 MW out of our baseload power generation system. It's seen the closing down of numerous generators, it’s seen a strike on investment because of the uncertainty around renewables, and it's seen a Government that is completely unwilling to act on domestic gas. All talk, no action. What this Government has to do now is pull the gas trigger, so we've got more gas, end the war on renewables, so we've got more renewables, and invest in more storage so that this summer, we don't see blackouts. This Government needs to invest in more gas, more renewables, and more storage.