The real fight behind Sydney University student protests

RIOT police had to step in at a student protest at Sydney University last night. But what got students so worked up?

THEY were angry, really angry.

Students who protested at a Sydney University even while the Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham was in attendance last night hadn’t planned for their chanting to erupt in violence, but they were prepared for police presence.

When their cries against the government’s proposed plans to deregulate fees and hike up uni debts were met by a mob of riot police, they stood up for their right to protest.

We’ve seen the footage of police officers forcibly removing students from the university library and heard the accounts of kids being dragged up stairs in headlocks, but what’s been missed in the coverage of last night’s shocking university riots is what it was all about.

These kids area clearly angry about something, and if they’re going to such extreme lengths to get their point across, it must be pretty important to them.

Students say there was an “extreme” amount of force used.

The university’s Sydney Representative Council education officer Liam Carrigan was one of the protest’s organisers.

He told news.com.au the protest was about wanting to make education more accessible, only it’s not that simple.

“There’s been a lot of seriously concerning announcements about the intentions of the Federal Government in regards to higher education,” he said.

“We’ve seen suggestions they could be collecting HECS from the dead, cutting funding by 20 per cent, increasing interest rates by 10 per cent.

“Add to that the issue of fee deregulation that would ensure that lower socio-economic status students, single mothers, marginalised groups, will find education far more inaccessible, and could lead to those $100,000 degrees.”

Liam Carrigan was one of the protest’s organisers.

A group of around 30 students assembled in the university’s library where inside, Mr Birmingham, who had recently announced the government would remain committed to making university students pay more for their degrees, was speaking.

The education minister is yet to reveal details of higher education policy that the government will take to this year’s election.

Speaking on ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday, Mr Birmingham confirmed the government was committed to finding savings and deregulating the sector, and hinted they would need to take action on student loans.

The fear among students is that if they are allowed to set their own fees, the cost of university education would blow out and make it accessible only to wealthier prospective students.

But Mr Birmingham says it’s necessary for the government to deregulate the sector, and he’ll make sure the reasons for it are communicated to Australians, including students.

“Our universities do need to be able to differentiate between each other, to innovate on the world stage, and that of course does require a certain degree of latitude for them in terms of how they structure their course and how they finance their courses to some extent,” he said.

Australian Education Minister Simon Birmingham is not on the same page as his protesters. Picture: Lukas coach/AAP

While eagerly awaiting further government announcements on higher education policy ahead of the upcoming election, Mr Carrigan said it was clear there were changes to be made, just not the ones the government was proposing.

“The state of higher education in this country is completely chaotic and unsatisfactory,” he said.

“Students are already putting themselves in great debt, we’re seeing staff cuts, course cuts, a complete erosion in education. We need to completely revolutionise how we treat higher education in this country at all levels, and focus on making it accessible.”

As for the prospect of further student protests, Mr Carrigan emphasised he did not support violent protesting, but said it was unlikely student groups would go quiet.

“We wish that they weren’t necessary and we don’t ever intend to violently protest, but the fact of the matter is we feel like we had no choice,” he said.

“I believe we got our point across because we showed that our students will continue to fight for an accessible higher education system.”

Originally published as The real fight behind Sydney University student protests