Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion from the member for Melbourne which condemns the Labor government's $2.3 billion in funding cuts to Australian universities and student support services. On 14 May this year the Treasurer confirmed that this Labor government continues to lay ruin to the nation's finances. As a result of their incompetence, despite government revenue increasing more than six per cent, the Labor government has delivered yet another deficit of $19 billion this year. Over the forward estimates gross debt will breach the $300 billion debt ceiling. Labor's incompetence means more debt, more deficits and more uncertainty and, worse, more bad news for the research and university sector in Australia.

The 2013-14 budget confirmed previously announced cuts to higher education including $900 million in cuts in the form of efficiency dividends and more than $1 billion in cuts by converting student start-up scholarships to HELP lines. The Labor government also removed the 10 per cent discount for the upfront payment of university fees and the five per cent bonus for the voluntary repayment of HECS-HELP debts, and it announced an annual cap to tax deductions for self-education to $2,000 per person. It was supposed to save the government $514.3 million. These cuts are in addition to the cuts announced to the 2012-13 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook when they froze almost $500 million for the Sustainable Research Excellence program among other cuts and deferrals.

Ultimately world-class research at Australian universities has practical outcomes for Australians. Research is one of the key drivers of future economic activity in this country. It leads to innovations and a more productive economy as well as significant advancements in health solutions for all Australians. I have previously spoken in the House on the ground-breaking research being undertaken at the University of Queensland in my electorate. It is a university which demonstrates amazing depth and diversity across many faculties from architecture to engineering, quantum physics to biomedical, and molecular research.

I have highlighted the outstanding work by Professor Maree Smith, who is internationally renowned for her excellence in pain research and who pioneered Australia's first integrated preclinical drug development facility, TetraQ. Professor Smith has now successfully seen two of her drugs commercialised by UniQuest, which will address significant unmet clinical need in markets that will grow to be worth approximately $35 billion by 2017. This will be one of the most significant advancements by any Australian researcher in the field of drug development and, following the success of the Gardasil vaccine, has positioned UQ as an international leader in commercialisation and transfer of research outcomes. Furthermore, UniQuest has also facilitated the commercialisation of several other University of Queensland biomedical inventions, such as the Nanopatch and Dendright technologies, with subsequent multimillion dollar investments from international venture funds and companies.

These are just some examples of significant developments occurring at the University of Queensland, and some of this work has been made possible only because UQ has been able to attract the best international researchers to Australia while at the same time ensuring that our own home-grown talent stays here. In order for universities such as UQ to attract this talent and to keep these people in the country, the sector requires stability and certainty from the government of the day. The Australian Research Committee has identified long-term funding as a key to retaining specialist expertise in Australia. I hear similar feedback from the University of Queensland. Furthermore, because research projects require funding commitments over many years, if not decades in some instances, universities simply cannot plan for the long term when they are faced with the short-term political whims of this Labor government. Yet that is exactly the situation in which they now find themselves—with a Labor government that has failed to provide the long-term research funding that our researchers desperately need.

In April this year Nobel laureate Peter Doherty, who went to Indooroopilly State High School in Ryan, labelled the Labor government's changes as 'politically inept' because 'universities are the last thing you should raid if you want to send a consistent message on education.' These comments reflect the real ongoing concerns about this Labor government's approach to universities. The coalition remains committed to the university and research sector by delivering its Real Solutions plan to build a stronger, more productive economy through lower taxes, more efficient government and more productive businesses. The coalition will restore the bonds of trust that once existed between government and Australian universities. We will restore hope, reward and opportunity for all Australians.

See this speech in context