Democrat GST fails tertiary education
1 June 1999
The National Tertiary Education Union has condemned the Democrat cave-in on the GST. The deal which has been struck between Senators Lees and Murray and the Prime Minister ignores the concerns raised by the education sector.
\"The Democrats have a good record of supporting our education sector- this deal undermines that record\", Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President said. \"The Democrats have gained respect and support amongst those working and studying in the education sector. This good will and support will be seriously damaged if the Democrats carry through and vote to support this anti-education package.\"
\"The Lees/Howard deal effectively denounces the position which the Democrats have already put on the public record. Our major concern was to ensure that education institutions, rather than courses, be deemed GST-free. The Democrats have supported this position throughout the process, even moving amendments in the Senate. However, when it came time to do the hard work in negotiating with the Government, this issue was simply ignored.\"
\"The failure to secure amendments to ensure that education institutions are GST-free creates problems for Australia’s research effort. It now seems that research conducted in Australia’s universities will be liable under the GST. Had Senator Lees made it clear that she was going to back-peddle on the core education amendments, other solutions could have been proposed. Now we are left with no solution.\"
\"Despite repeated and vociferous claims that the Democrats would not support a tax on books, they will be fully GST-liable under the agreed package. The only compensation is for the book industry and not for book buyers. The deal which has been struck will do nothing to maintain book prices and will impose an increased cost on learning.\"
For further details on the effects of the GST on education, see scorecard produced with AEU & IEU.