This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/17/a-lesson-in-logic-why-its-up-to-us-all-to-meet-cost-of-educating-australia

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Should you be taxed for a service you don't use? If you want a better Australia, the answer is yes Should you be taxed for a service you don't use? If you want a better Australia, the answer is yes
(4 months later)
The Australian electorate of Maranoa may cover 42% of the state of Queensland, but I never go there and neither do the The Australian electorate of Maranoa may cover 42% of the state of Queensland, but I never go there and neither do the vast majority of Australian tax-payers. Yet despite its 99,614 electors representing a minuscule part of the Australian voting population, its local member Bruce Scott – a member of the ruling Liberal-National Coalition government – went to the last election with some pretty pricey aspirations for the area. Amongst them was a promise for $317.5m to upgrade priority sections of the Warrego highway, and $700m for the second Toowoomba range crossing to service his electorate.
vast majority of Australian tax-payers. Yet despite its 99,614 electors I lived through the famously wasteful and discriminatory spending of John Howard's era in conservative government, and with sops to conservative lobbies like the inane school chaplains scheme now soaking up the taxpayer dollar, you can imagine any spending promises made by the Coalition to their friends (Maranoa is the most conservative electorate in Australia) has me instinctively searching for barrels and sniffing for pork. More than a billion dollars for a highway improvement in what Joe Hockey has been bleating for months is a sky-is-falling budget apocalypse is an investment worth scrutinising.
representing a minuscule part of the Australian voting population, its local member This is not because I begrudge the Maranoans their new highway: I pay tax because what the residents of Maranoa and I have in common is that we are Australian, by virtue of that fact that we are members of a society that relies on complex systems of mutual support to survive and prosper. While I flit around Fitzroy on my bicycle, I still rely directly or indirectly on the coal, oil, peanuts, citrus, pharmaceutical ingredients and other resources produced in that area, and certainly don't want these stranded somewhere in the middle of Queensland due to an ineffective road system. Similarly, the Maranoans need their goods to reach me so I can buy them.
Bruce Scott – a member of the ruling Liberal-National Coalition government – went to the last election with some pretty pricey aspirations for the area. Amongst them was a promise for $317.5m to upgrade priority sections My only issue on hearing about the second Toowoomba Range crossing was to take umbrage that we can recognise that there's social benefit with investing in roads and bankroll them, yet at the same time we've allowed governments to pretend other necessary infrastructure – like higher education – is merely some sort of personal largesse.
of the Warrego highway, and $700m for the second Toowoomba range crossing to service his electorate. But I was incorrect with this assumption – for investing in roads is not spared the intrusion of ideology. It turns out that Abbott's Coalition are not sparing Maranoans their "user-pays" zealotry, and original plans to make the new roads tollways have been extended. And much to the fury of the Lockyer valley local mayor, the old highway, which was always free, will also now have a toll imposed on it. In the free market wonderland of user-pays ideology, local transport operators who can't cover the cost of either tollway still have a choice, of course – and that's the choice to go absolutely nowhere.
I lived through the famously wasteful and Option Nowhere is the ultimate logic of the user-pays ideology of Abbott's ideological fondness. On the Toowoomba highways, as in the education sector and everywhere else, the constant rhetoric is all about those who don't use services not having to pay for them.
discriminatory spending of John Howard's era in conservative government, and with sops to But as we are all members of the same economic community and intrinsically reliant on one another, in reality, "user-pays" is a backhand way of rigging the tax system to calcify the status quo and so prevent any kind of economic or social mobility. Pay attention, Queensland: if everyone pays the exact same charge on the tollway (a cost proportionally greater to the smaller operators than the richer ones), it becomes harder for the little guy to get ahead.
conservative lobbies like the inane school chaplains scheme now soaking up the The same principle is being applied in higher education. This week saw the release of the report of the review of demand-driven funding system for higher education. The report recommends a further shifting of the cost of education not onto the taxation system, but to university students.
taxpayer dollar, you can imagine any spending promises made by the Coalition to Since the Labor party introduced university fees in 1989, the comprehensive benefit that a broad-based and inclusive higher education system delivers to the entire Australian population has been subjected to exactly the same tollway principles as the two Toowoomba highways.
their friends (Maranoa is the most conservative electorate in Australia) has me instinctively searching for barrels and sniffing for pork. More than a Take the report's co-author Andrew Norton, yet another think-tank conservative appointed to head up another Coalition's review, who has actually said: "it is not clear why the public rather than students should pay" when discussing how to meet national education needs. Norton (who, having commenced his university education prior to 1989, received it for free) has been campaigning for some time against the "general public", particularly those who do not go to university, contributing via the tax system to the nation's education.
billion dollars for a highway improvement in what Joe Hockey has been bleating That these general public – like the good citizens of Maranoa – rely on university-trained professionals across our country to provide services to keep Australians individually and collectively alive is conveniently ignored by a man whose present ideas include continuing the economic exploitation of students after death, and sending the debt collectors in to an estate if a former student dies before paying off their higher education loans.
for months is a sky-is-falling budget apocalypse is an investment worth There are presently 813,689 domestic students in Australian universities and according to the present report, the total government subsidy for undergraduates was $6.1bn. The elephant in the room, of course, is that it's the current Coalition government's refusal and the previous Labor government's failure to fairly tax prosperity that is forcing unnatural and unnecessary budgetary pressures on all our social systems. The National Tertiary Education Union are fighting against students being saddled with personal debt for pursuing an education that gives to their community. "The solution is greater government commitment to funding public universities, not slugging students with higher fees," said its national president, Jeannie Rea, this week.
scrutinising. The issue here is not too much spending, but too little revenue: tax was only 26.5% of GDP in Australia in 2011, yet the OECD average is 34.1%. The underspending is deliberate and ideological; to engineer funding shortfalls that allow the introduction of economically discriminatory mechanism of "user-pays".
This is not because I begrudge the Maranoans Denying public investment in education – or in health, or in welfare, or in any other national infrastructure – is not a necessity, and it's not an inevitability. It's a choice.
their new highway: I pay tax because what the
residents of Maranoa and I have in common is that we are Australian, by virtue
of that fact that we are members of a society that relies on complex systems of mutual support to survive and prosper. While I
flit around Fitzroy on my bicycle, I still rely directly or indirectly on the
coal, oil, peanuts, citrus, pharmaceutical ingredients and other resources
produced in that area, and certainly don't want these stranded somewhere in the
middle of Queensland due to an ineffective road system. Similarly, the
Maranoans need their goods to reach me so I can buy them.
My only issue on
hearing about the second Toowoomba Range crossing was to take umbrage that we can recognise that there's social benefit with investing in roads and bankroll them,
yet at the same time we've allowed governments to pretend other necessary
infrastructure – like higher education – is merely some sort of personal
largesse.
But I was incorrect with this
assumption – for investing in roads is not spared the intrusion of ideology. It turns out that Abbott's Coalition are not sparing Maranoans
their "user-pays" zealotry, and original plans to make the new roads tollways have been extended.
And much to the fury of the Lockyer valley local mayor, the old highway, which was
always free, will also now have a toll imposed on it.
In the free market wonderland of user-pays ideology, local transport operators
who can't cover the cost of either tollway still have a choice, of course – and
that's the choice to go absolutely nowhere.
Option Nowhere is the ultimate logic of the
user-pays ideology of Abbott's ideological fondness. On the Toowoomba highways, as in the
education sector and everywhere else, the constant rhetoric is all about those
who don't use services not having to pay for them.
But as we are all members of
the same economic community and intrinsically reliant on one another, in
reality, "user-pays" is a backhand way of rigging the tax system to
calcify the status quo and so prevent any kind of economic or social mobility.
Pay attention, Queensland: if everyone pays the exact same charge on the
tollway (a cost proportionally greater to the smaller operators than the
richer ones), it becomes harder for the little guy to get ahead.
The same principle is being applied in higher
education. This week saw the release of the report of the review of demand-driven funding system for higher education. The report recommends a
further shifting of the cost of education not onto the taxation system, but to
university students.
Since the Labor party introduced university fees in 1989, the comprehensive benefit that a broad-based
and inclusive higher education system delivers to the entire Australian
population has been subjected to exactly the same tollway principles as the two
Toowoomba highways.
Take the report's co-author Andrew Norton, yet another think-tank
conservative appointed to head up another Coalition's review, who has actually said: "it is not clear why the public rather than students should pay" when
discussing how to meet national education needs. Norton (who, having commenced his university
education prior to 1989, received it for free) has been campaigning for some
time against the "general public", particularly those who do not go to
university, contributing via the tax system to the nation's education.
That these general public – like the good citizens of Maranoa – rely on
university-trained professionals across our country to provide services to keep Australians individually and collectively alive is
conveniently ignored by a man whose present ideas include continuing the
economic exploitation of students after death, and sending the debt collectors
in to an estate if a former student dies before paying off their higher education loans.
There are presently 813,689 domestic students in
Australian universities and
according to the present report, the total government subsidy for
undergraduates was $6.1bn. The elephant in the room, of course, is that it's the current
Coalition government's refusal and the previous Labor government's failure to
fairly tax prosperity that is forcing unnatural and unnecessary budgetary
pressures on all our social systems. The National Tertiary Education Union are fighting against students being saddled with personal debt for pursuing an education that gives to their community. "The solution is greater government commitment to funding public universities, not slugging students with higher fees," said its national president, Jeannie Rea, this week.
The issue here is not too much spending,
but too little revenue: tax was only 26.5% of GDP in Australia in 2011, yet the OECD average is 34.1%. The underspending is deliberate and ideological; to engineer
funding shortfalls that allow the introduction of economically discriminatory
mechanism of "user-pays".
Denying public investment in education – or in
health, or in welfare, or in any other national infrastructure – is not a
necessity, and it's not an inevitability. It's a choice.