Michael Ferguson (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Isn’t that an interesting interjection from across the chamber—somebody from the ALP trying to make a political point in response to a statement about this budget, which has for the first time been offered by a Treasurer who has cleared the debt, who has cleared $96 billion in debt? Isn’t that interesting? Ninety-six billion dollars is approximately half of the federal budget, and we were in debt that much. Repaying that debt—and it has taken all of those years, and the government had to get the first budget under control in the first place—and getting that monkey off the back has meant there is now more than $8 billion a year which the government is in a position to give back to the Australian people in new initiatives and in tax cuts. And so it should.

In a speech I heard earlier today, by the member for Melbourne, I think, a comparison was drawn between the government’s investment in the Higher Education Endowment Fund and Labor’s plan to rip some $2 billion or $3 billion out of the Future Fund. No such comparison is valid at all. The Australian government has deliberately set up the Future Fund to be managed by the guardians of the Future Fund so that governments, which come and go, will not be able to put their fingers into that Future Fund, which was specifically set up to pay the debts that we know that we cannot yet afford—those unfunded liabilities. There is no comparison between the government’s position on the Future Fund, or indeed the Higher Education Endowment Fund, and Labor’s plan to raid the Future Fund for its broadband promise. However, the fund will promote excellence and quality in Australian universities for years to come, because it is perpetual. It will last longer than any of our careers here in this place. It will support the emergence of even more world-class institutions.

The dividends from the earnings of that initial $5 billion Higher Education Endowment Fund will be shared with universities in Australia. They will be used for capital facilities—such as research facilities—which students and researchers will be able to benefit from. The dividends will be shared based on strategic investment proposals which support the Australian government’s policy, which includes specialisation, diversity and responsiveness to local labour market needs. This is a modern education system. This is how you do it properly. It is not just about throwing money at problems; it is not about throwing money at vice-chancellors, hoping that they will go away happy. It is about setting up strategic initiatives in these good times to ensure that—heaven forbid—if bad times are ahead of us the structures are in place so that our higher education providers and universities are well resourced and so that Australia can remain a leading edge economy. It is an unprecedented investment. It is something that, as I have said many times, I am very proud of. I also look forward to next year’s federal budget—hoping like most Australians that the Howard government will again be delivering that budget—and hope that that budget and future budgets will deposit more funds from what ought to be future budget surpluses into that fund.

The last thing that I want to say about that endowment fund is this: it will allow us to do something in Australia which we have not done extremely well in the past. There are of course examples of institutions which have had generous benefactors who have bequeathed funds to university trust funds or other perpetual funds, the earnings of which go back into the institution. In other countries around the world they do it better. The United States and countries in Europe, such as Britain, certainly do it better than Australia. The Higher Education Endowment Fund gives Australian benefactors an opportunity to do likewise. Corporations and individuals who wish to make a contribution—for example, to the University of Tasmania—will be able to do so. The Higher Education Endowment Fund can be the vehicle for their donations. And those donations can be quarantined for a specific institution, which is excellent. Both sides of the House support that, because it is an excellent principle. It is a way for the Australian government to lever more finance and more investment from the community to help Australia become a better educated, smarter place and to strengthen our economy even further.

There are many initiatives in the budget that relate to education and they are the ones that I have concentrated on today. I commend the budget and I commend this legislation, which deals specifically with higher education, to the House. I hope that it is supported across all quarters. I pay tribute to the Treasurer for listening to Minister Bishop and understanding where she was coming from when she came forward, along with Minister Robb, with these initiatives. It is going to be great for Australia. Frankly, it is fair to say that it will take some time to see the long-term benefits emerge. Years will elapse before people look back to this time and say: ‘That was a really smart decision; that was a long-term, visionary initiative. It wasn’t just a $5 billion throw-away.’ By the way, you can get a lot of votes for $5 billion by spending them in the year. This is a $5 billion investment for the next 200 years which will make Australia a wonderful, more creative, smarter place. As I said at the start of my contribution, it is about helping young people—and indeed older people—to realise their potential, to gain more purpose for their lives and to feel as though they are a valuable part of our community. Thank you.

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