education funding, student fees, university
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the following changes to university funding proposed by the Federal Government?
| Total approve | Total disapprove | Strongly Approve | Approve | Disapprove | Strongly disapprove | Don’t know | ||||||||
| Reducing funding to universities by $2.8 billion | 28% | 56% | 7% | 21% | 33% | 23% | 15% | |||||||
| Increasing student fees by $2,000 – $3,600 for a 4-year degree | 30% | 60% | 7% | 23% | 32% | 28% | 11% | |||||||
| Requiring students to begin repaying loans once their salary reaches $42,000 instead of $55,000 | 47% | 44% | 14% | 33% | 24% | 20% | 10% | |||||||
56% disapproved of the proposal to reduce university funding by $2.8 billion, and only 28% approved. Those most likely to disapprove were Greens voters (80% disapprove), ALP voters (69%) and those with a university degree (65%). Those most likely to approve were Liberal/National voters (45% approve) those aged 65+ (40%) and males (34%).
60% disapproved of the proposal to increase student fees, and only 30% approved. Those most likely to disapprove were Greens voters (84% disapprove), ALP voters (73%) and those aged 18-24 (71%). Those most likely to approve were Liberal/National voters (51% approve) and those aged 65+ (46%).
47% approved of the proposal to require students to repay their loan earlier, and 44% disapproved. Those most likely to approve were those aged 65+ (68% approve), Liberal/National voters (67%) and other party/independent voters (57%). Those most likely to disapprove were Greens voters (68% disapprove) and those aged 18-24 (59%).