Student protestors enlivened an otherwise soporific edition of Q&A on Monday night, challenging the education minister, Simon Birmingham, over cuts to higher education funding.
The panel, ostensibly assembled to discuss the budget in the university town of the Gold Coast, was diverted to allegations the government was “targeting” young generations through its cuts to university funding and inaction over housing affordability.
A question from a student asked Birmingham – once an “active student politician who campaigned for fair treatment … adamant about stopping fee increases and not allowing cutbacks to be made” – why he now, as minister, supported raising fees for degrees, and lowering the Help scheme fee repayment threshold.
His answer was initially derailed by protestors who interrupted, yelling at the minister “you’re making students pay for the corporate tax cuts!”
The protestors were chided by host Tony Jones – brooking no deviation from the vetted interrogatives – and physically manhandled out the door by security, before the minister finished his answer.
“Students have been protesting for generations,” Birmingham said.
“It’s a shame they’re not being listened to,” Greens senator Larissa Waters countered.
Last Tuesday’s federal budget proposed a 7.5% increase in university fees, a lower income threshold for repayments of a Help student debt, and a cut of nearly 5% to government course subsidies.
Birmingham said the number of students enrolled in Australian universities had jumped 30% in the space of a few years.
“[There has been] phenomenal growth in the numbers of Australian students going to universities, that’s a good thing.
“[But] that comes at a very, very significant cost in terms of the cost of providing higher education and funding it into the future … and our reforms are about trying to make sure that stays sustainable.
“If we want to make sure future generations of Australians can enjoy unlimited access to universities, future generations do not have to pay $1 upfront, we need to make sure the funding is sustainable into the future.”
Waters said higher education was a public good and an investment in Australia’s future.
“There are $65bn worth of corporate tax cuts, $24bn worth of free handouts to the big mining companies [in the budget] and yet they are ripping $4bn out of universities and trying to convince us that’s a good idea.”
The shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, said young people were right to “get angry” about higher education funding and said the proposed $42,000 threshold at which repayment of Help would kick in loans was “obscenely low”.
“This government has abandoned young people.”
Birmingham resolutely defended the budget against allegations it was targeting Australia’s young generations.
Why are you targeting my generation? @Birmo and our #QandA panel responds pic.twitter.com/kTGj5m43Ma
— ABC Q&A (@QandA) May 15, 2017
“Our focus is on actually growing the economy, including through measures like making our company tax regime more competitive, is about trying to make sure there are good jobs, well-paying jobs for all Australians so that in the future everybody can enjoy the type of strong social safety net, the type of investment in schools, Medicare, support for an NDIS [National Disability Insurance Scheme] and all those very expensive policies that we want as a country to have in place and that need to be funded.”
Birmingham’s position did not meet with accord from the audience or his fellow panellists.
“Yes, young people are targeted by this government,” Bowen said. “There are real issues of intergenerational equity. Young people are being locked out of the housing market, and young women in particular are losing big time. And it’s got to stop.”
Miranda Stewart, the director of the tax and transfer institute at the Australian National University said young people did shoulder a disproportionate burden of tax, and that proposed housing affordability measures in the budget – allowing first home buyers to access some super and incentives for downsizing older homeowners – would have little benefit.
.@AusTaxProf says uni graduates do better in wages & it will affect more women. @Bowenchris it abandons young people #QandA pic.twitter.com/NycQMajueH
— ABC Q&A (@QandA) May 15, 2017
“Over the last few years we’ve embedded a set of measures that enable older people to accumulate wealth and young people are bearing I think, relatively more tax,” Stewart said.
“It would be good see a bit more tax on capital and savings than we’ve seen. I think the housing policy measures, that’s one bit of this government’s budget that seems to add complexity and planning opportunities to those who are well advised and probably won’t contribute very much to housing affordability at all.”
Innes Willox, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, was blunter: “I have three kids. I’d rather be 53 than 23.”
