28 March 2014 Sharon Claydon today attended the opening of the University of Newcastles new Medical Sciences West Building, delivered with more than $7 million of funding from the former Labor Government.Building works on the new facility were completed in October 2013, in readiness for the 2014 academic year. Ms Claydon was glad to see the latest cohort of medical science students benefit from Labors higher education investment in Newcastle. Its great to see the building officially opened and being used for the universitys fantastic medical science programs, Ms Claydon said. Labor strongly believes in supporting and investing in higher education and our future. We made record investments while in Government and will continue to do everything we can to ensure the industry and students are well supported. The university is building a formidable reputation as a global education leader and facilities like this will only enhance their efforts, she added. In government, Labor invested in Australias higher education sector like no government before, increasing Commonwealth revenues by 73 per cent from $8.1 billion in 2007 to almost $14 billion in 2013. The Medical Sciences West Building was funded through Labors $500 million Teaching and Learning Capital Fund for Higher Education (TLC (HE)) as part of the $4.7 billion nation-building infrastructure package to support Australia's economy.