Presidential Message
Dear Colleagues,
In the lead-up to the 2004 federal election I wrote to you about a range of policies introduced by the Howard Government that were of concern to the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). Since then, unfortunately, the situation has worsened as Coalition control of the Senate has allowed an array of policies to be implemented that have had significant implications for our sector.
Following the last Federal election, the Coalition Government has increased its industrial attacks on university staff and their representative organisations through the Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements (HEWRRs) and the WorkChoices legislation.
As well as putting the employment conditions and rights of NTEU members at risk, WorkChoices and the HEWRRs have put Australian in breach of several important International Labour Organization Conventions and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Rights of Higher education Teaching Personnel
Control of both houses of our federal parliament has enabled the Coalition to pass a range of policies which have had negative impacts for our institutions, their staff and students, and the communities that they serve.
Changes to the Australian Research Council (ARC) Act have given the Education Minister the power to appoint or dismiss the ARC College of Experts. Student organizations on campus have been seriously impacted by the Government’s voluntary student union legislation, and counter-terrorism measures have been introduced which could have a chilling effect on academic debate and force university administrators to monitor staff and students on behalf of police and security agencies.
Not only has Commonwealth funding to universities become more fragmented and more conditional, but according to the latest OECD data, public investment in our universities is continuing to decline relative to other comparable countries. In place of public funding, universities have been forced to rely on private income sources, mainly increased fees and charges to students, with significant equity and debt implications.
The Government has sought to further corporatise university decision making structures, including reducing the size of university governing councils and remove staff and student representatives. The Government has also been central to changes to the accreditation regime that have lowered the standard for access to the title ‘university’ and blurred the distinction between universities and non-university higher education providers.
These changes have done little to address the main issues of concern identified by our members, including rising student/staff ratios, growing workloads and mounting stress levels for university staff. Nor do they do much to meet the challenges posed by the aging of the academic workforce and problems this will bring.
As you may be aware, NTEU has been active in the Australian Council of Trade Union’s Your Rights at Work (YRAW) campaign since its inception, and will continue to participate in a range of related activities during the election campaign.
In response to the Howard Government’s higher education policies and their impact on the sector, NTEU has also decided to undertake a number of additional campaign activities in the upcoming election, activities we are hopeful members will get involved in.
This campaign will be around the theme of Quality Universities: worth fighting for. Worth voting one for.
The Union’s is not affiliated to any political party and our campaigning is not about telling people how to vote. No financial aid will be provided to any candidate or political party.
The Union’s overall intention is to inform and educate members and others in the sector about the importance of maintaining a high quality university system, by providing a critical analysis of all the parties’ policy positions.
In the coming weeks NTEU Branches and Divisions will receive a number of campaign related materials for use over the election period.
Every NTEU member will receive a booklet entitled State of the Sector, which aims to illuminate the current state of play in Australian universities. The Union will also be distributing its analysis of the higher education, industrial, Indigenous and human rights policies of the major political parties
NTEU is asking members to do one of a number of things during the election period:
- The Union has asked its Branches to hold public forums or candidate debates for their local candidates. This sits closely with the general role of universities to promote public debate. I do hope you will be able to attend the forum held at your institution or in your local area.
- The Union will be distributing corflutes relating to our broader education campaign and the YRAW campaign and to all Branches. Please consider contacting your Branch to obtain one of these, and place it in your front yard or other prominent place.
- Make sure your students, your colleagues and your family is properly enrolled to vote.
You can get more information about the Union’s higher education campaign activities during the election by going to www.nteu.org.au/campaigns/election2007
The Union believes higher education will count in this election. I hope you will assist us in advocating for high quality university education, which is worth fighting and voting for.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr Carolyn Allport
NATIONAL PRESIDENT