Community continues to support public education
2 June 1998
Private union polling has confirmed that support for higher education remains very strong amongst members of the community, highlighting the importance which the issue will play in the imminent federal election.
The poll reveals that over 88% of respondents supported providing additional funding to universities, with 56% of respondents believing that significant amounts of additional funding should be forthcoming. In addition, despite claims by the Government that they are expanding access, two thirds of respondents rated increasing the number of university places as a high, or very high, priority.
Importantly, education will have a significant influence in the way in which people vote with over a quarter of respondents believing it to be the single most important social issue in the country and 86% indicating that the Government’s record on education will have some influence on how they vote. The key youth demographic of 18-25 year olds rated education as the single most important issue- social or economic- in influencing their vote.
\"There can be no doubt that the public place great value in a quality education system and that education will play a major role in the next federal election\", NTEU National President, Dr Carolyn Allport said. \"The NTEU will be campaigning between now and election day to ensure that education is uppermost in the minds of voters, with the aim of gaining commitments from all political parties which will support a strong public higher education system.\"
\"The results of this poll, and numerous others conducted over the last few years, should put all political parties on notice that they cannot afford to ignore the community’s concerns about the state of the higher education system\", Dr Allport said.
\"It is almost incontrovertible that government investment in education is essential to the future prosperity of Australia, with over 99% of respondents agreeing. However, the Government is deaf to the concerns of the electorate, as it attempts to defund universities and shift more of the financial burden onto students and their families\", Dr Allport said.