Community and union members from across the Ballarat region will rally this Saturday June 1st at 2pm outside the Post Office Gallery on Sturt Street as part of an escalating campaign to save Federation University from mismanagement.
The rally will call on FedUni management to stop its devastating "Future Fed" cuts proposal, in which nearly 1 in 5 Full Time Equivalent positions stand to be removed from the institution.
The event has been called by Ballarat Trades and Labour Council and endorsed by the National Tertiary Education Union, the National Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Australian Education Union, and the Australian Workers' Union.
Speakers at the rally will include local MP Michaela Settle, Ballarat Trades and Labour Council Secretary Brett Edgington, and NTEU FedUni Branch President Dr Mathew Abbott.
"The Future Fed cuts proposal threatens to rip the heart out of our small institution. Staff members at Fed pride ourselves on providing an outstanding level of support and pastoral care for our students. We should be out there publicly advertising our generous staff to student ratio, not seeking to attack it," said Dr Abbott.
"As well as its staff and students, FedUni belongs to its communities and matters very much to those who live in the regions we serve, so it is very powerful to see our whole community coming together to support our rally this Saturday," Dr Abbott said.
Quotes attributable to Member for Eureka Michaela Settle:
"Our kids and all lovers of learning deserve a strong regional university. It's a matter of fairness. It's the academics and the courses they teach that will shape our community's future. A great uni degree shouldn't depend on where you live. For our kids' sake we need to support Fed Uni staff and the unions fighting for their rights."
Quotes attributable to Ballarat Trades and Labour Council Secretary Brett Edgington:
"Our university is vital for regional Victoria, a place to go for so many that are the first in their families to attend higher education, an alternative for those who simply cannot afford to live and study in metro areas. Our university is vital for our region's economic development, fostering innovation, new enterprise, and ideas development. At a time of unprecedented skills demand it has been devastating to see our university slash staff and course offerings. It is clear the current VC and management cannot deliver the university we deserve in our region – time to step aside for leadership that can."
