29 juillet 2015

By Jeannie Rea (NTEU National Office). In a particularly cynical and callous move on Budget night, the Coalition Government confirmed a further $3.7 billion cut to the foreign aid budget coming on top of the massive 2014 budget cuts. According to the Australian Council for International Development this means that the Coalition Government has cut $11.3 billion from the aid program since 2013. More...

By Terri Macdonald (NTEU National Office). The 2015 Federal Budget was not only a missed opportunity for the Government to actively address a number of important issues for women (such as family and domestic violence, and the ever growing gender pay gap), but in looking for budget ‘savings’, women are again bearing most of the budgetary burden. More...

By Courtney Sloane (NTEU National Office). The NTEU says that the government’s most recent plans to stop vocational education and training providers from charging students withdrawal fees is a further acknowledgement of the negative impacts of deregulation in education. 
“The NTEU also welcomes outlawing providers marketing VET FEE-HELP supported training as ‘free’,” Jeannie Rea, National President of the NTEU,  said today. More...

By Celeste Liddle (Indigenous). The effects of the 2014 Federal Government Budget cuts to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (A&TSI) programs are still impacting our communities quite dramatically. In the 2015 Closing the Gap report it was shown that on most indicators, there has been no improvement, with some even going backwards. More...

By Celeste Liddle (Indigenous). The recent announcement from the Abbott Government that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council (ATSIHEAC) is to be abolished is of deep concern and raises a number of questions with regards to the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (A&TSI) participation in higher education in the coming years. More...

By Paul Clifton (NTEU National Office). A survey of more than 7000 academics across the country has shown that university staff have high job satisfaction but are worried about job security.
The National Tertiary Education Union survey of more than 7000 academics across the country has revealed that only 35 per cent of academics at the University of Sydney felt their job was secure, while 81 per cent believe their workload has increased significantly in the past five years. More...

By Paul Clifton (NTEU National Office). Aoraki Polytechnic is a regional polytechnic based in the South Island town of Timaru. It has been struggling financially for a few years now and it is currently considering merging with its big cosmopolitan neighbour, Christchurch Polytechnic and Institute of Technology (CPIT).
At present in New Zealand there are talks or merger processes underway involving six of New Zealand’s 18 polytechnics; Weltec and Whitireia, Waiariki and Bay of Plenty, and Aoraki and CPIT. More...

By Paul Clifton (NTEU National Office). The Abbott Government has taken a leaf out of John Howard’s book. Howard saw John Hewson lose what was seen as the unloseable election in 1993, largely because he said openly what he would do if elected and the voters didn’t like it. So in 1996, Howard was careful not to tell the electors that he was planning the same extreme approach, riding to the Lodge on disenchantment with Paul Keating and a misleading image of reasonableness. More...

By Paul Clifton (NTEU National Office). Just a few years ago, the idea of universities taking a principled stance on fossil fuel investments seemed like a big deal. Soon it may be a bigger deal when they do not. Consider their efforts to secure a reputation for leading the big debates, it’s only fitting universities should want to lead on the biggest debate of our time. As community expectations rise and the global debate moves on, Australia’s sector risks falling behind. More...

By Paul Kniest (NTEU National Office). The NTEU conducted its first State of the Uni survey in April and May of this year.  The survey  covered all staff working at Australian universities and was completed by almost 7,000 respondents from across the sector.  The composition of the respondents was: 56% academic; 50% female; 70% having ongoing or permanent employment, and importantly; 41% not being union members. More...