Eyes on Adelaide, beckoning Burnie

Angry about the Tehan package write a (specific) senator … 

The message from the National Tertiary Education Union is “fund university fairly: no hikes, no cuts” and it is set out in a template message for people to send senators, who will vote on the Tehan undergraduate funding model.

“We don’t want to go down the American road where only a few can get into university and the rest of us are saddled with a lifetime of debt. Dan Tehan’s package is a funding cut, a fee hike and will have unintended consequences for our universities and our community,” is the core of the campaign.

It’s the same approach, albeit without the pizazz of the “$100 000 degrees,” the union used so successfully against the Christopher Pyne deregulation package. But it is way snappier than the “education for all – stop fee hikes,” the union started with when Mr Tehan announced his plan, (CMM June 23).

The new message comes in versions for South Australia, Tasmania and the rest of the country. That’s because defeating the legislation will require Labor, the Greens, plus both three others. Given there is no Queensland version of the message it appears the union does not think Queenslander senators, Pauline Hanson and colleague Malcolm Roberts are likely to agree with the union.

And so Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania) and the two Centre Alliance senators, South Australians Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff, are less best than only bets. Senator Griff said last month he was “absolutely sure there will have to be a Senate inquiry on the pros and cons of what has been proposed” (CMM June 25).