The talk of 2024 was the federal government’s proposed changes to arrangements for international students, and it was understood that the Coalition would back the enabling legislation when it came before the Senate.
It was a major shock, then, when the Coalition flagged in November that it would not support the legislation after all.
This is not due to some change of heart from the conservative side of politics.
Like Labor, they are of the view that immigration numbers into Australia are too high, and that the simplest way to reduce these numbers is by cutting back on the biggest cohort – namely, international students.
The more likely reason for the Coalition position is that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has seen the success of Donald Trump in the US in opposing a bipartisan immigration bill, allowing him to keep the immigration issue alive for the election.
Given that Trump ended up winning the election, Dutton may well be hoping that his tactics might pay off here when Australia goes to the polls early next year.
However, the defeat of the legislation does not mean that much has changed. Up until now the government has been relying on more obscure regulations, in particular, Ministerial Directive 107, a regulation that the proposed legislation would have repealed.
This directive has seen visa approvals limited, along with other bureaucratic manoeuvring to cut overall numbers, but it is a less transparent mechanism than clear legislation.
Despite the apparent defeat of the proposed legislation, the push to cut student numbers remains a bipartisan position, and the sector should continue to brace for a difficult 2025.
Agreements round-up
Your union continues to be active in seeking improved pay and conditions for members in the post-secondary sector, and in 2024, the IEU signed off on new enterprise agreements at UTS College, Navitas Skilled Futures, and Taylors College.
These agreements saw teachers in those colleges achieve annual pay rises of around 4%, along with improvements to other conditions, while holding the line on existing benefits. In 2025, bargaining will get moving at WSU The College, Taylors College, Navitas Skilled Futures, UOW College, and UNSW College.
Enterprise agreements provide better pay and conditions than the award. The Fair Work Act includes provisions for ‘good faith bargaining’, under which an employer can be compelled to start bargaining where it can be demonstrated that most employees (or group of employees, such as teachers), want that to happen. To find out how this might work at your college, contact your union, the IEU.
Season’s greetings
This will be the last Present Tense for 2024, but we’ll be back better than ever in the new year. We wish our members in the post-secondary sector all the best for the holiday season. Remember that the best holidays are union-won holidays – which is all of them!
Help us to push for further improvements in your workplace by maintaining your membership and by encouraging your colleagues to join the IEU.