A special post-budget episode of Q&A on the ABC was interrupted by protesters last night as two audience members began yelling about high student fees to the cheers of audience members.
“This is a university town, there is a good deal of passion here in the audience,” program host Tony Jones said.
“Students have been protesting for generations,” Education Minister Senator Birmingham responded.
“It's a shame they're not being listened to,” Greens senator Larissa Waters quipped.
Two protesters were ejected from the Gold Coast venue where the special episode was being filmed.
In last week’s budget, it was confirmed that student fees would rise by 7.5 per cent by 2021, with repayments on government loans to start once a former student is earning $42,000 a year, down from $55,000.
The government has also cut funding to university places by 2.5% in 2018 and 2019.
Minister Birmingham said it was a good thing that more and more Australians are going to university, but that that the numbers come with added budget pressures.
“All of that comes at a very, very significant cost in terms of the cost of providing higher education,” he said on Q&A.
