A small group of protesters crashed Education Minister Simon Birmingham's speech at the National Press Club in Canberra to condemn the government planned cuts to higher education.

The protesters chanted, "No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities," before they were pulled off the stage by security at the National Press Club.  At that moment, Mr. Birmingham had been attempting to explain the government's plans to increase course fees by 7.5 percent by 2021, which comes out to AU$3,600 for a four-year course.

The Senator from South Australia described the heckling as a "rite of passage" as the students were dragged off by security.  "I think there's probably not been a year in the past few decades when we haven't seen university students protesting at some stage," he said.

The Australian National University Students' Association (ANUSA) is incensed by the changes.  "Students have fought deregulation before and we want to show Simon Birmingham that we will fight again," read a statement.  "The measures confirmed by the education minister that will be in the budget mean students will be paying more and getting less from their degrees."

Another group of protesters rallied outside the Education Minister and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's offices.