Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

They have been outrageous, Deputy Speaker, but we are up for it. I do not know where the University of Sydney stands in the ranking, but I am pretty sure they would be in the top 10, 15 or 20 in the world. The University of Sydney have already stated that their scholarships—now wait for it, Member for Newcastle; hold onto your seat—will go from 700 places to 9,000 places. Just contemplate that for a minute. That is for kids from low-SES backgrounds—the very ones that you were rightly sticking up for, and the higher proportion that do end up going to the University of Newcastle currently. We might have a complete reversal. You might have all the really wealthy smart kids going up to the University of Newcastle and all those low-SES kids from Newcastle coming down and doing degrees at the University of Sydney. What a result! This is a fantastic thing.

It is indeed one of our nation's biggest export earners. The cross-subsidies that we get from international students are absolutely critical. It is the reason that education in this country is very reasonably priced. Our markets do work. I mentioned that there is no lack of competition within the higher education sector in Australia. I will be damned if anyone is going to tell me that if there is not good and high-paid employment opportunities there. If somebody is paying a little bit more for a degree, they will make a judgment and the market will actually make a judgment. There is no shortage of supply of providers within this sector. If there was, some of the arguments that are being made by those on the other side may have some resonance.

In summary, these are true reforms. I started by saying that I have been in this place only a short time. I guess we all come into this place believing we can make a difference. This is true reform. This is about the future of our country. This is about enhancing one of our natural competitive advantages and being a leader.

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