Ready for uni fight

By EMMA SUN
YARRA Ranges councillors are gearing up for the biggest fight in the history of their careers – to keep Swinburne in Lilydale.
After a lengthy discussion during last Tuesday’s meeting, councillors voted unanimously to urge the university to reverse its decision to close the campus.
They will also write to state and federal members of parliament with their concerns regarding the State Government’s decision to reduce funding to the sector and appeal for assistance.
Mayor Graham Warren said the call he received from the vice-chancellor was the “most devastating phone call I’ve ever taken”, which left him speechless.
“(The Yarra Ranges) is an area where social disadvantage is already present, so council is focused on doing what we can to stop this,” he said.
Cr Jeanette McRae, a Swinburne alumnus, said it was particularly poignant for her as she knew first-hand the valuable opportunities the university offered throughout the shire.
“I believe moving the campus is incredibly short-sighted and there’s an expectation that the students can take extra transport or study online,” she said.
“The concern is that it’s all about university but for all of us, the core of whatever decision that is made should be about the students and what they need.
“To close a facility that serves the south-eastern corridor is mind-blowing and we need to send a strong message to parliamentarians and to Swinburne to reverse this decision.”
Cr Len Cox recalled the excitement and enthusiasm about 20 years ago when Swinburne first decided to come to the Yarra Ranges and criticised its decision.
He said he was puzzled as to why the State Government would cut education funding – something that was so crucial to the area.
“There’s been real money spent, real effort put in and real pride and great joy,” he said.
“Somebody has to reverse this decision – if not the university, the state and federal government need to step in.
“I can’t remember a public university ever closing before. It’s a terrible decision and must be changed.”
Cr Richard Higgins and Cr Terry Avery expressed their concerns on the potential job losses in the area and the effect it would have on not only the students, but staff and families too.
“I know of some families who move to the area just to go to Swinburne, where are they going to go?” Cr Avery asked.
Cr Samantha Dunn said it was heart-breaking to read about the frustrations students had of the closure via Facebook and criticised the idea of moving students to another campus.
“It really cannot get any worse than this,” she said.
“(The students) will be severely disadvantaged – they should be able to get access to quality education without travelling for hours and hours.
“When you get hits like that, it’s a massive blow so we have to get in there and get working hard to save this.”
Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe said recently the State Government was not reducing TAFE funding and was actually redirecting resources to where it was needed most.
“The Baillieu Government is putting $1 billion more funding over four years – not less – into Victoria’s training system,” she said.
”Funding has been redirected into training courses that will lead to employment for the students and address Victoria’s skills shortages – especially apprenticeships – while moving funding away from oversupplied fields.”