Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the time same as insisting that Australian women carry the personal burden of higher costs, higher debt and higher interest rates for their education, this government refuses to give up on the Prime Minister's unaffordable rolled-gold Paid Parental Leave scheme at a cost of $5 billion to the nation—but we cannot afford to help women pursue higher education! The government's hypocrisy is truly astounding. The effect on students is just one side of the debate on this higher education reform. There is also the effect on universities and regional communities.

My electorate of Newcastle is proudly home to Australia's best university under the age of 50, with a standing in the top three per cent in the world. One of the top 10 universities in Australia for research funding and teacher quality is the University of Newcastle. At the University of Newcastle, excellence is always coupled with equity, not in spite of it. Excellence and equity are two sides of the one coin at the University of Newcastle, as it should be. That is something this government consistently fails to understand.

The student body is representative of the broader region, with students who are of lower than average socioeconomic status and are often the first university students from their family. Nearly a quarter of enrolled students are from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, which is well above the national average. Compared with the two Group of Eight universities in New South Wales, the University of Newcastle does considerably much more of the heavy lifting in terms of ensuring access, equity and opportunity for all.

Twenty-four per cent of students admitted to the University of Newcastle come from low-SES backgrounds, while the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney—at about 8.5 per cent and about seven per cent, respectively—are well behind. The University of Newcastle has the highest number of Indigenous students in Australia and the highest rate of students beginning study through enabling programs rather than through the traditional pathways. They are students like the woman that I mentioned earlier, who is now reconsidering her options with this government's insidious reforms.

Despite the assertions from members opposite, like the member for Bass, regional universities will not benefit from these reforms; they are likely to suffer, as will their students and the regions they so richly contribute to. For research-intensive regional universities—like the University of Newcastle, with world-class research in high-cost disciplinary areas like engineering, medicine and health—adequate funding is vital to ensure their continuing excellence. Without adequate Commonwealth funding, funds will have to be sourced from the student body. While this bill would allow that to happen through deregulation, few students would be able to meet the cost without enduring lifelong, massive debt.

As already noted, the University of Newcastle's student body is drawn from lower-SES regions. The ability to recoup lost Commonwealth funds from students will be near impossible, even with deregulation of fees. Regional students simply will not be able to afford to study in high-cost disciplines and it will be difficult for research standards to be maintained with the loss of overall funding. I fear that these students may be lost to higher education altogether. Any proposal to reduce Commonwealth funding will also result in significant increases to the cost of highly technical disciplines, like teaching and nursing. These professions are critical to Australia's future. They are professions that are, however, low paid. There is higher debt and lower pay—you do the math. It would be a lifelong debt sentence with little reward.

Opportunity in education is a pact between generations and a pact we must keep. Funding universities properly is an investment in Australia's future and it is an investment in our people. This reform does not achieve that. The Liberals opposite can vote for $100,000 degrees and for the doubling and tripling of fees, but Labor will vote on the side of students. We will always be on the side of families and we will always be on the side of those who dream of better opportunities for their children and those who come after. We will stand up for young Australians and give them a voice in the national political debate about the future of this nation. We will stand up for equitable access for women, Indigenous students and students from low-SES backgrounds. We will stand up for mature Australians who have been dislocated by economic change. We will stand up for regional universities, who are the drivers of our regional economies. (Time expired)

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