Covid-19: Higher Education

The majority voted against a motion introduced by NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) Australian universities are facing massive losses in revenue as a result of falling enrolments during the COVID-19 crisis, and

(ii) universities across the country have begun to announce job cuts, with up to 30,000 jobs expected to be lost;

(b) calls on vice-chancellors to prioritise retaining staff, including those on casual and fixed-term contracts, in their responses to revenue losses, and

(c) calls on the government to include all universities in the JobKeeper scheme.