Stop the corporate assault on NSW universities

Today in Parliament, Abigail gave notice of a motion expressing grave concern at the wave of job cuts occurring across the NSW university sector.

Abigail said:

I give notice that on the next sitting day I will move:

(1) That this House notes that in June this year, Macquarie University announced plans to cut a raft of key courses as part of a brutal restructure that will axe more than 75 jobs and drastically cut options for students.

(2) That this House notes that the proposed cuts to courses mean that:

Bachelors degrees in archaeology, music and ancient languages will be entirely cut,
Bachelors degrees in sociology and ancient history will all be dramatically reduced, with ancient history staff and lecturers being reduced from a headcount of 14 to 3,
Bachelors of Arts students will no longer be able to study politics, gender studies, criminology and psychological studies as majors,
Masters degrees in electronics engineering, ancient history and two IT fields will also be discontinued.

(3) That this House further notes with concern the scale of job cuts, across popular and growing faculties, including:

108 staff in scope for 43 job losses in the Faculty of Arts,
117 staff in scope for 33 job cuts in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

(4) That this House expresses its concern at this wave of job cuts occurring across the university sector, with NSW universities the centre of an explosion of redundancies that now number 1500 in just the last year, with UTS, University of Wollongong, Western Sydney University, and University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University joining Macquarie University in this pursuit of savings at the expense of teaching and learning.

(5) That this House recognises its fundamental role in enabling and empowering these Universities through NSW legislation, and affirms its commitment to ensuring the highest standards of governance and accountability in these critical public institutions.

7 August 2025

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

And that’s exactly what the Universal Wellbeing Payment will do.

It’s a regular payment made to each of us to ensure our minimum standard of wellbeing. No means testing, no bureaucracy, no strings attached.

It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

It means you are free to live your life and contribute to society as you see fit, whether you’re a carer, an artist, a student, a parent, an entrepreneur – you can get on with what you need to do, knowing that you will always be supported regardless of your income.

It means that we’re choosing to structure our economy for the benefit of all of us, not using our collective wealth to prop up the interests of big business and the wealthy few.

It means you will always have what you need to live a good life, no matter what.

The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

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Stop the corporate assault on NSW universities

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

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