Related Policies
Policy
Provide an affordable, world class education system that gives all Australians the skills and attributes they need to secure jobs and flourish in society.
Policy Methods (Federal & State)
To help achieve this Sustainable Australia Party will:
- Offer free and universal university and TAFE education for Australian citizens
- Abolish all current HECS/HELP debts for Australian citizens
- Provide an unconditional universal basic income - or citizen dividend - of $500 per week ($26,000 per annum, indexed from 2021) to every Australian (also see Welfare policy)
- Better invest in university and institutional science and technology research and development to enhance Australia’s creativity, innovation and productivity
- Better link education outcomes to contemporary secure job opportunities
- Maintain, and where needed increase, funding for public schools
- Increase the salaries and improve the working conditions of teachers
- Prioritise needs-based education funding as well as teacher and principal quality across the primary and secondary education system
- Encourage small class sizes in order to better enable teachers to help all students achieve their potential
- Maintain and enhance comprehensive environmental and sustainability education programs in school curricula
- Provide access to affordable and reliable childcare and early childhood education, where needed
- De-link international student enrolment from work visas and immigration outcomes
- Restore proper funding to universities in order to compensate for decreases in both education fees (above) and international student demand aligned to immigration objectives (also see Population & Immigration (Australia) policy
"Following the withdrawal of funds from our higher education sector, international students were increasingly targeted as a commodity to help pay the bills to help pay the bills. At the same time, the Howard Government created huge incentives for these students to seek permanent residency through a variety of educational qualifications." Independent Australia
"Like most arguments canvassed to support Australia’s extreme concentration of international students, the $37.6 billion 'export' figure is a mirage. The true value, while unknown, is likely much lower, as are the purported benefits." MacroBusiness
"The fact that so many international students fell into hardship when they lost their jobs at the beginning of the pandemic, and then demanded taxpayer support, highlights this point [that most international students fund a significant proportion of their expenses via income earned while working in Australia and therefore the industry is not predominantly an 'export' industry]. As does the fact that youth unemployment has fallen sharply despite rising participation, precisely because the number of international students working and competing for jobs has shrunk." MacroBusiness
"Since Australian universities first started entering the foreign market of education in 1986, a dependency on international students has taken a clenching, and corrupting hold." Online Opinion
