QTEA Statement of Principles
The QTEA consists of the following organisations: QUT Student Guild, NTEU, NUSQ, QCPCA, UQ Student Union, QCOSS, QTU, and Griffith SRC.
The QTEA believes that education is a right not a privilege and that access to education should be based on merit rather than wealth. In order to achieve this goal we oppose any Government policy which attempts to:
- Further deregulate upfront fees for domestic undergraduate and postgraduate students.
- Increase HECS and introduce top up fees on top of HECS.
- Charge market rates of interest on Government loans to students to cover the cost of obtaining an education.
- Undermine the capacity of staff and student unions to effectively advocate for the well-being of their members
- Restrict the industrial freedom of university staff by forcing them onto Australian Workplace Agreements and limiting their right to strike by labelling them as an essential service.
- Introduce a HECS based system for TAFE students.
- Rationalise courses by eliminating unprofitable programs and programs that are offered on more than one campus.
- Force universities and TAFEs to rely solely on student fees as a means of funding.
The QTEA advocates for:
- The Government to reverse its policy of shifting the cost of education onto students through increased fees and charges.
- The Government to increase the public funding of universities.
- The Government to increase the number of public places at Australian universities.