Dear Vice-Chancellor Pickering,

We, the undersigned, hereby oppose the University's parking fee increases for 2024. 

We face a cost-of-living crisis. Many staff and students are struggling to make ends meet. This decision inflicts an undue financial burden upon students and staff. For context, here is a spreadsheet explaining the rising costs of parking.

The University has offered staff a 3% pay rise this year. Parking fees are rising by as much as 106%. 

Parking fees have risen faster than consumer price inflation. They have also risen much faster than Monash University wages. This is price gouging. 

The University's justification of "encouraging sustainable transportation" is greenwashing. We don't believe this  decision is about sustainable transport -- it's about the University's bottom line. By hurting financially insecure  staff and students, this decision will damage the University's commitment to equity and inclusion.

• For many students and staff, public transport is not a viable option. Public transport to Clayton and Peninsula campuses remains substandard. Commutes are already long. For staff and students working late at night, public transport can be impractical or unsafe.

• Parents with school and kinder pick-up/drop-off responsibilities are being discriminated against. The school run can't always be done on public transport. Working parents are placed in a difficult position. 

• Not everyone works remotely. Lower-income staff, like librarians, lab techinicans and service desk staff are expected to be physically present on campus five days a week. For these individuals, the monthly parking fee of $200 represents a significant financial hardship.

• Students are also disproportionately affected. The financial burden of parking fees adds to the already considerable costs of education.

The university's implementation of "surge pricing" is exploitative. Students and staff are not some kind of "surge" or overflow: they are the reason the University exists. Teaching weeks of semester are not "peak periods": they are the periods when the University peforms its mission to educate. Peak pricing hurts those who have no alternative but to drive to campus. It is unfair and unequal. 

We, the undersigned, demand that Vice-Chancellor Pickering:

• Immediately rolls back parking fees to 2021 levels, in line with the Consumer Price Index.
• Stops the predatory practice of surge pricing.

Monash University claims in its Impact 2030 statement that it wants to be inclusive. It’s time for the University to live up to its ideals and prioritise the needs of those it serves.

NTEU Monash Branch                                   Monash Student Association            Monash Graduate Association
monash@nteu.org.au                                    msa-president@monash.edu            mga-ec-president@monash.edu