Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 525 standing in my name for today relating to the tertiary education system, before asking that it be taken as a formal motion.

Leave granted.

I amend the motion in the terms circulated in the chamber and move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) successive governments have cut university funding, leaving the sector reliant on international student fees to fund education and research,

  (ii) the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted how vulnerable the government has left our tertiary education system, and

  (iii) the Government has allowed casualisation and insecure work to run rampant at universities, to the detriment of students' learning, staff well-being and research excellence; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to: (i) end the funding freeze on Commonwealth supported places,

  (ii) boost funding per-Commonwealth supported place student by 10%,

  (iii) ensure universities are eligible for the JobKeeper scheme, and also provide a new package that will massively boost funding, save jobs and improve working conditions for staff, and

  (iv) support international students through this crisis.