Fixer Christopher Pyne hires own education fixer

The Australian 14 August 2015

Education Minister Christopher Pyne has hired a “fixer” to talk to crossbench senators as the government prepares to bring its higher education reforms back before parliament, reports The Australian.

The Australian has learnt that ex-bureaucrat-turned-consultant Robert Griew, a former associate secretary in the Department of Education, has been holding meetings about the twice-rejected legislation with a number of politicians and university groups at the personal direction of the minister. The legislation would have deregulated university fees, indexed student loans to the consumer price index and established a scholarship fund for low-socio-economic students.

Pyne, who last year bragged he had solved a funding dispute by saying “I’ve fixed it. I’m a fixer”, has employed Griew to “test the broad range of ideas” being put forward by various stakeholders, including senators and members in opposition parties. A spokesman for the Education Minister confirmed the bill would be brought back to the upper house in the spring sitting, which resumes this week.
Full report on The Australian site

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