The Australian Education Union understands the importance of TAFE and the education services it offers. TAFE can provide not only education but also opportunity and purpose. TAFE has helped countless apprentices learn their trade, helped immigrants settle into new communities, helped locals advance their careers, helped school leavers find a pathway to employment or further education and offered a fresh start to people who have lost their job. As Victoria looks to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, TAFE can play a crucial role in helping those that have lost their job to upskill or learn a new craft so they can move into new roles. Unfortunately, the current financial state of TAFEs means these important institutions and the passionate educators that drive them face an uncertain future. We need the Victorian Government to step in and guarantee that TAFEs will survive the pandemic. We need to save TAFE once and for all.

1. OUR SKILLS ARE EMPLOYABLE: The government’s assumption that studying arts degrees and subjects does not lead to any ‘employable skills’ is factually wrong. These subjects provide highly transferable skills, such as critical reading, research and analysis skills, problem solving, and writing persuasively for different audiences. 2. OUR SKILLS ARE THE FUTURE: The World Economic Forum says the top three skills for 2020 The Future of Jobs are Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and Creativity. These are the skills that a broad, liberal education teaches. 3. LIBERAL EDUCATION IS A FOUNDATION OF DEMOCRACY: Healthy democracies need a strong and liberal education system. It’s good for both society and for maintaining a productive, dynamic workforce. A liberal education helps us understand ourselves as a nation, how to navigate our current world as well as how we can learn from our shared human history. 4. STUDYING HISTORY, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY IS A RIGHT OF ALL, REGARDLESS OF WEALTH: Australia has long had a proudly egalitarian tertiary sector, which has allowed students from less advantaged households to benefit from higher education. Why should an arts, social sciences, or legal education or career be only available to the very wealthy? 5. LET'S NOT LEAVE DISADVANTAGED AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES BEHIND: Less funding is likely to have a particularly damaging effect on teaching programs and the careers of many disadvantaged and diverse communities, including Indigenous communities, regional communities, and women. FOR MORE INFORMATION: News article from The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/fee-cuts-for-nursing-and-teaching-but-big-hikes-for-law-and-humanities-in-package-expanding-university-places-141064 World Economic Forum here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-10-skills-you-need-to-thrive-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/ And word from the British Academy on arts and social science graduates: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/arts-humanities-and-social-science-graduates-resilient-economic-downturns/

The Morrison government's announcement that it will double fees for a series of humanities degrees is one of the worst attacks on students in recent times. Law, economics, management and commerce subjects will face fee hikes that means students could be charged up to $72,500 for a 5 year degree such as Law. The cost of a humanities or communication degree will be more than doubled - increasing by 113% to $14,500 a year. A three year arts degree will now cost approx. $45,000. This is essentially an attempt to abolish the humanities as a serious discipline, and instead restrict its accessibility to only wealthy students. This fee increase deliberately prioritises economically profitable degrees, while decreasing the accessibility of degrees designed to encourage critical thinking about society. Our education should not be subordinate to the needs of industry. The government wants to divide us by granting fee reductions to other students. We reject a two-tiered fee system that attempts to force students into studying what the government deems more important. Students should have the right to study what they want. Cost should never be a barrier when deciding what to study at university, or even if you want to study at all. We need free, fully funded public education, not a user pay model that prioritises particular disciplines or degrees. We are demanding that the government to scrap the proposed fee increases for university degrees. Written by Jazz Breen & Jack Mansell, Sydney University SRC Education Officers

On Monday 25 May, our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Iain Martin, advised Deakin staff that you, our University Council, had endorsed a Restructure/Reshaping Process due to the financial impact of COVID-19. We were advised that Phase 1 of this process would commence within the week. Staff were advised of a proposed immediate reduction of around 400 positions. Professor Martin noted that the Restructure/Reshaping process was in fact endorsed by Council twice – on 7 May, and again on 21 May. We are writing to demand that the Council call a halt to the Phase 1 process and consult with Deakin staff - with full financial disclosure - on how they believe the University can best respond to the current financial crisis. Deakin is a public university so we call on all members of the Deakin community - staff, students, alumni, members of the communities in which Deakin resides and serves, to support staff in calling on University Council to halt to the Phase 1 process.

The petition of certain citizens of the City of Kingston draws to the attention of the Kingston Council that: 1. Don Tatnell Leisure Centre was closed on the 30th of January 2020 due to serious structural issues that made the centre unsafe for use. 2. This facility was used by many of members in the Parkdale, Mordialloc and Mentone community -offering pool, spa and sauna facilities, as well as a gym with local classes and other support services. 3. Don Tatnell is walking distance from Parkdale Secondary College and St John Vianney's Primary School, and accessible to many other local primary and secondary schools in the Mordialloc-Parkdale area. 4. The centre is readily available to our local community via bus from Mordialloc Station. 5. Since its closure, Kingston Council has not committed funding to a redevelopment on its current site and has instead flagged a possible relocation. This would be a huge loss to our local community. 6. The Mayor of Kingston has stated that costs to return the ageing building to a “useable state, without any improvements in service” would incur $9 million in costs and a 10-month closure. Instead, the Mayor says the Council “will focus on developing a new, modern centre that meets the current and future needs of our community.”

Did you know that changes are being made to the Exit 200 Chevallum Forest Glen turnoff from the Bruce Highway? Did you know that a roundabout is being built at Chevallum Road/Rainforest Road and that this new exit will be the fastest and most direct way to travel to Palmwoods? Traffic along Chevallum Road and past Chevallum State School will increase as a result. The community needs to feel safe when they travel on or are near Chevallum Road. An upgrade is needed near Chevallum State School to reduce the risk of traffic incidents and personal injury around the school. We all know that this section of the road is already unsafe and congested at certain times of the day and we need to join together to sign this petition to let Local, State and Federal government members that our children's safety should come first and that money should be spent to upgrade Chevallum Road, in coordination with the building of the roundabout and new highway exit.

A pay cut is a slap in the face to staff who have doubled or tripled their workloads to deliver online learning and services to students. The changes to redundancy packages, however, are disturbing. Job losses would become easier and cheaper to make, incentivising the University to lay off more staff. With workers already laid off in student services, libraries, schools and galleries, we cannot afford more cuts. As more of these redundancies take place, our quality of education will lessen. This would mean fewer students, less funding, and the devaluation of University of Melbourne degrees. Those who need University support the most, and benefit the most from tertiary education, would be hit the hardest. Worst of all, hundreds of thousands of workers could be left without a livelihood, all because the university refuses to dig a little deeper. With your help these jobs can be saved, but only by encouraging staff to vote No. Students and staff are counting on your support.

Paddington is a unique and important local community, and will be spoiled by these out-of-place, massive LED billboards. Not only that, these billboards are designed to distract drivers right before a crossing and a bend in the road on Latrobe Terrace. They are a danger to our drivers, pedestrians and cyclists and they have no place in our community. Residents were not consulted on this billboard approval - and we do not support it!

The Club’s ability to plan for its future is at stake without the certainty of a 20 year lease. Redlands Rugby League Club is a proud Club with a long history at the Pinklands Recreation Reserve and we want to protect our viability, history and heritage. Our community supports its future at the Pinklands site and our voices should be heard. The Redland City Council have approved a Redlands Coast Regional Sports Master Plan that contains the potential for our Redlands Rugby League Club to be relocated to the Master Planned Heinemann Road Mt Cotton site. This would see a potential 35% reduction in Club membership and destruction of our heritage. We are calling on our community to support our call to Redland City Council to keep the Redlands Rugby League Club at the Pinklands Recreational Reserve into the future.

Under the Liberals, our heroes get zero. This pay freeze is a slap in the face and a kick in the guts to every essential worker who has worked overtime during this pandemic to keep us all safe.

When the virus hit, public sector workers had to work harder than ever before - often they faced a greater risk of coronavirus by going into work at hospitals or cleaning public spaces and buildings around our state. They did to make us all safe and keep society functioning. Without them, Australia wouldn’t be getting through this crisis better than nearly all other countries. But now the NSW Government, under Premier Gladys Berejiklian, wants to cut their pay. Why? Because they're seen as an easy target - they don't have the wealth or power of big business, CEOs and banks that should be forced to pay their fair share of tax. What's worse, the Premier has already awarded pay rises to Government CEOs and Heads of Departments - one Government CEO even got a $65,500 pay rise! But it gets worse for all us. When the lockdowns and social distancing began, people stopped spending money in their communities and shops. This turned into an economic crisis - people were queuing outside Centrelink for support. The Government employs 1 in 10 people in NSW and could increase the pay of its workers who spend in our communities and shops - with the lockdowns slowly easing, now is the perfect time! If they cut workers pay this will prolong the economic downturn for all of us. Add your name to say this is wrong!

Keeping our local communities safe from mental health issues, economic hardship and ensure your elected council members works for our community.