FOUR of Calare’s six federal candidates have made a commitment to maintaining equitable access to university education.
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The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) invited federal candidates in the upcoming election to sign a pledge on Friday at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) candidate Rod Bloomfield and Labor’s Dr Jess Jennings made it to the signing, while Central West Greens candidate Delanie Sky and independent Anthony Craig promised to put their signature to the pledge at a later date.
The pledge asked each candidate to, if elected on July 2, support policies to keep the cost and debt of going to university within reach for students and maintain investment into the future of tertiary education.
Mr Bloomfield said supporting tertiary education for “country kids” was particularly important to him.
“When I was leaving school at Molong, we didn’t have any universities in regional areas and that I think limited the options in my life and the lives of tens of thousands of others,” he said.
“Now we have quality tertiary institutions, like Charles Sturt University, in regional areas and it is vital that we support them.”
It was a point Dr Jennings could agree with.
“It is already quite a barrier for country kids to get to university and imposing $100,000 degrees would be a massive deterrent,” he said.
Dr Jennings himself relied on financial assistance to see him through university, saying he would likely have left school in year 10, worked in unskilled labour and used government benefits if he hadn’t had support.
“It is vitally important for regional areas that the Libs don’t get to implement their policy,” he said after signing the pledge.
Melanie Wood, NTEU branch organiser at CSU’s Bathurst campus, said it was important for locals to see candidates sign a commitment to tertiary education at a time when the deregulation of fees and further cuts to education could soon be a reality.