It. Is. Working. get up

It. Is. Working.

In major headlines yesterday, the Abbott Government is capitulating on billions in cruel cuts to Newstart and social services.¹ That’s after GetUp members stepped up with donations to unmissable billboards, holding key senators to their budget promises.

Now with the Government’s budget strategy in disarray, we’ve got the chance to stop their plans to deregulate university fees too — preventing sickening fee hikes that would deny opportunities to many and shackle others to a lifetime of debt.

So, we’re partnering with teachers and students on a new TV ad campaign, grounded in the messaging that tested best with swing voters. Then we’re running the ad in areas guaranteed to grab the attention of the key crossbench senators with the power to stop the Government’s plans — because that’s what’s working.

Critical Senate hearings on uni fee deregulation start next week, so we need to lock in our ad placements now. Check out the ad and chip in to get it in front of key swing voters when it counts.

According to recent research, many Australians still don’t know about the proposed university fee deregulation — but when they do hear about it, they’re not happy. That’s where we come in.

The research shows that for key swing voters the prospect of degree costs skyrocketing to $100,000+ sets off absolute alarm bells. Especially offensive is the idea that money, not hard work, will get you a place at university, and that student debts will take a lifetime to pay off.

To drive these cut-through messages home, we’re launching an ad with our friends at the National Tertiary Education Union and the National Union of Students that shows what getting into university would become under deregulation: an all-out bidding war. Can you help get it on the air, so we can raise alarm bells with key swing voters, as their senators decide the fate of these bills?

Yes, I’ll chip in

Cutting back on higher education in a knowledge-based global economy is a recipe for disaster, especially when a study released this week revealed that Australia is getting huge public returns on its education spending — amongst the highest of any OECD country.²

University deregulation won’t just hurt students, it will create a drag on our whole economy, by undermining our clever country and creating a generation awash in debt. Let’s be clever ourselves, by getting this new uni fee auction TV ad on the air to the right people at the right time.

https://www.getup.org.au/at-what-price3

Thanks for all you make possible,
Mark and Nat, for the GetUp team

PS – Just weeks ago, more than 1,400 GetUp members chipped in to get billboards in front of Clive Palmer and PUP senators, to hold them to their budget promises at the critical moment. And it bloody well worked! Below is a picture of Mr Palmer and Senator Glenn Lazarus literally standing in front of their Newstart promise — writ large by GetUp members — as they announced they would not do a deal with the Government. Now to get this uni fees ad on the air at this decision moment for crossbench senators, we need to raise the bar even higher. Click here to chip in!

PPS – Coming up on the 16 October is the Student’s National Day of Action. Students, teachers, alumni, and parents will be mobilising on campuses across the country, the last hoorah before semester ends. Find out about events happening near you on the National Union of Students website.

References:
[1] “Federal Government to introduce new split welfare bill to House of Representative with Labor’s backing”, ABC News, 2 October 2014
[2] “Australian universities climb Times world rankings, while US and UK lose ground”, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 October 2014

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