Student/Staff “Save Our Uni” Rally

Wednesday 18th May 2005 12.30 – 1.30 Auchmuty Library Courtyard

Cuts to staff and courses / loss of services and jobs / economic impact on community

The percentage of funding provided by Commonwealth Grant to Newcastle University has fallen steadily since 1996.

Although this university is an integral part of the Newcastle community and one of the largest employers (at least until these cuts take effect) the Federal Government has also refused to fund the additional student places needed to balance the shortfall in revenue.

One important area in which extra places have been refused is Medicine: the University asked for 100 extra places, which would have gone a long way to dealing with the current skills shortage across Australia. Our teaching in this area is acknowledged as among the country's best. Yet there is an obvious correlation between the shortage of doctors in the community and the lack of medical places in University.

The Government also reviewed Newcastle's status as a regional university, and removed a further $3.5 million from its annual budget. The deficit budgets reported by the University over the last few years may have a number of underlying causes, but clearly the failure of the Government to resource the institution appropriately has been the major factor.

The CPSU represents General Staff of the University, working in administrative, technical and para-professional positions. General Staff are the first and most frequent point of contact for students. Services that General Staff provide include professional placement of students, eg. in medicine, engineering and teaching, for practical application of their studies. Imagine a University where there is no interface between students and learning, and no link between University and Community. Cutting 280 positions out of the General Staff layer will leave students with reduced services... or force them into an on-line do-it-yourself environment.

It is particularly important that the Federal Government be called to account for the results of its funding policies. Newcastle University was gerrymandered out of its regional funding status. What objective formula allowed Wollongong University to receive special regional funding but denied it to Newcastle? The Government has to assume serious financial responsibility for the state of higher education in the Hunter region.

The issue has caught national attention, and the rally will help to focus the issues. Jenny Macklin, the Shadow Minister for Education, and Sharon Grierson, Federal Minister for Newcastle, will both be speaking, as will Trevor White, President of the CPSU Branch, along with students and other union representatives.

For more information and to arrange an interview, please contact
Ron Hunter (CPSU Organiser) on 4921 5868 or 0401 583 365, or
Trevor White on 4921 5662.