Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

sorry; a full-time job—and still trying to secure a university qualification. You saw how that commentary was derided by those opposite, when a person in that position should have received every bit of assistance possible—but that was just indicative of the approach that this government is taking to the education debate.

What is particularly scary for students is what is to come into effect on 1 January 2016—the deregulation of university fees. And students are scared for very good reason, I would suggest.

Whilst my electorate of Fowler, sadly, does not boast university campuses within its boundaries, the University of Western Sydney, nevertheless, operates campuses in both Campbelltown and Parramatta, which many of the students in my electorate attend. While Campbelltown—an area near where I live—may not be the largest campus in Australia, I acknowledge the significant role that it plays in providing education, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, who very much predominantly reside in south-west Sydney. Universities such as UWS have not gone out there and campaigned on the inadequacy of the current fee structure to conduct their programs, and universities like UWS are not part of this gang of eight—the sandstone universities, as they are referred to—that are so totally fixated on the dollar and also very much on the business model of attracting foreign students into their universities. The universities operating in south-west Sydney like UWS are there to provide an opportunity for young people—an opportunity to get a university qualification and so to get an opportunity in life. With the proposed higher education reforms looming, universities like UWS will have no choice but to increase their fees—the suggestion is, by around 30 per cent—to account for the direct cuts that this government is making through the slashing of the Commonwealth's financial support.

If anything, this has to be seen as a classic cost-shifting exercise. Normally you would see cost-shifting between the Commonwealth and the states, but this is between the Commonwealth and individual students. The shortfall in Commonwealth funding is intended to be made up by an increase in student fees, and I would submit that they are not only the people probably least able to afford these costs but also the people that we are relying on to gain those qualifications, for our very future.

Australian undergraduates are currently paying amongst the highest tuition fees in the world. According to the OECD's 2008 report, Australia ranked 23rd out of 31 OECD countries in terms of students' ability to finance their own education costs.

Due to these financial restraints, research also shows that students in the bottom income quartile are four times more likely not to graduate than those in the top income quartile. This is particularly concerning for students and young people living in my area, most of whom do not come from wealthy backgrounds.

Domestic and international experience suggests that uncapping university fees will inevitably lead to a very significant increase in university tuition fees, putting tertiary education beyond the reach of many young people—particularly those coming from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.

Regrettably, my electorate, I think, is classified as the second-lowest socioeconomic area—so this directly impacts many families that I have the honour of representing. Cost will become a very big consideration when thinking about undertaking a degree or other tertiary qualifications. I know many local residents with kids currently studying at universities across Sydney and they have told me that, without the current level of HECS support, it would be close to impossible for their kids to pursue higher education.

As I have indicated many times here, my electorate is the most multicultural community in the country. It is something we are very proud of. Regrettably, there are large pockets of disadvantage, with many families coming from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Many of them are refugees and people who did not have the opportunity to access a higher education. For that reason, they place their children's education at the forefront of everything. They work very hard, putting in long hours to support their families. They go to great lengths to emphasise that education is very important. They strive to provide the best opportunities for their kids. They see it as important for young people to be successful in a society like Australia. They strive for a better future than theirs. In most cases their pasts were devoid of proper opportunities for higher education.

I would like to talk about one family in particular. A local resident, Mr Van Nguyen works part time in a bottleshop in Lansvale. He classifies himself as a low-income earner. He tells me he earns no more than $500 a week. His wife, Hoa Tran, works on a casual basis in the garment industry, also in my electorate. Since arriving in Australia in 1989 as refugees from Vietnam, both parents have worked tirelessly, dedicating their entire lives to the future of their children. Their daughter, Yen, was a very bright student and was admitted to study a Bachelor of Medical Science and a Bachelor of Law at the University of Technology Sydney.

These parents are very proud of their daughter and her achievements, which were on display during her graduation. Coming from a low-income household, they find it incomprehensible that Yen now has a HECS debt close to $50,000. If this is the sort of financial obligation that current students are already racking up upon graduating, what position will our future students be in? They will be looking at $100,000 degrees.

According to the 2011 census data, 6.7 per cent of my electorate's population undertakes a higher education. That is close to 10,000 people each year. For an electorate with people aspiring to a future outside of a low income, that is good and something that should be encouraged. Certainly parents are playing a role in that. It is hard to think of what will become of these future students, most of whom will be graduating with a debt equivalent to a first home mortgage. These are huge financial pressures at such a young age. I am not sure what that is going to do for our future economy either. This will have intergenerational aspects attached to it.

It is undeniable that with these reforms, our education system is heading into a direction where it is no longer based on merit but rather based on price discrimination. Equality of access will be affected, particularly combined with the restrictive aspects that are going to apply to the HELP lifetime limits. As I have stated earlier, higher education is a key factor in our economic, cultural and social development. The long-term prosperity of Australia will be influenced by the future activities of higher education graduates.

However, higher education, and university education in particular, continues to suffer at the hands of the Liberal government, who want to put it in the hands of the wealthy rather than operate it on a merit based system. If they want to tax education to that extent, they do not have the interests of our country at heart when it comes to investing in our future.

See this speech in context