CREDIBILITY OF EDUCATION INVESTMENT FUND IN DOUBT
The Member for Berowra, Philip Ruddock MP said today that he fears that the Education Investment Fund (EIF) will be used as a political slush-fund by the Rudd government.
“The Education Investment Fund’s precursor, the Higher Education Endowment Fund, was set up by the Howard government to provide Australia’s universities with a secure and long-term source of funds for new infrastructure that would benefit constituents,” Mr Ruddock said.
“The previous government contributed $6 billion to the fund with the intention that only the interest would be disbursed, leaving the capital untouched and secure to guarantee funding in perpetuity.
“The Rudd government not only under-delivered on its promise to top up the fund and then further diluted the fund by opening it not just to universities but hundreds of vocational education institutions, but it also expressed the intention to distribute the capital, and not just the interest from the fund.
“This radically changes the nature of the fund and the government has now splashed tens of billions of dollars on ill-conceived stimulus packages, is running up a huge budget deficit and is borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars.
“Instead of a fund that would provide steady and secure funding for universities that would have benefited my constituents for decades to come, Mr Rudd will now use it as a slush fund to splash the billions of dollars in another panicky attempt to win over the electors,” Philip Ruddock said.