Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We just heard from the member for Shortland, and we hear this a bit from Labor, about access and equity. Let me put on the record and let us have the member for Shortland and other Labor members opposite listen to a couple of points about access and equity. They fail to acknowledge that the government's reforms will provide better access and more opportunities for low-socioeconomic status students and those living in regional Australia. As part of this package we require universities to invest one dollar out of every five dollars of additional revenue in new government scholarships for students from low-socioeconomic status backgrounds.

Ms Hall interjecting—

These scholarships will support access for disadvantaged students, Member for Shortland, by assisting with living costs and study pressures. Moreover, the Higher Education Loan Program, HELP, will continue to ensure that no Australian student needs to pay a dollar up-front. This is access at its best—no dollar up-front. Students can borrow their full share of the cost of their education through HELP and not a cent of the university's money needs to be paid for by Australian students up-front. No-one has to repay their HELP loan until they are earning a decent wage—over $50,000 a year. Some might earn $30,000 or $40,000, and they do not need to pay it back. Member for Shortland, you might have just overlooked that when you were thinking about your concept of equity. You have no idea what equity means, Member for Shortland.

I move on to congratulate the minister, Christopher Pyne. I see Mark Butler, the member for Port Adelaide, here smiling because he knows that the minister has done a fantastic job with this. His vision and his consultative approach with the universities have put a fantastic bill, the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014, before the House. It is great to see the member for Port Adelaide acknowledging that this afternoon.

I am proud to have an education background. My father was a teacher. I have been involved in the governing council of my local primary school and I went to two fine universities in South Australia. So it gives me great pleasure to speak on these reforms. The government wants to have the best higher education system in the world—something that the member for Shortland and others on the other side just want to sweep under the table. We believe this education reform package will produce the results we are wanting. Through our reforms, Australia will be in a great position to create some of the best universities in the world and the best higher education system. We are good at the moment, but we can get better.

We have attracted many great students in the past to universities in South Australia: Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, who studied a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Adelaide and is the current President of the Republic of Singapore; and Dr Kong Cheong, the current chairman of the Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation and a former CEO of Singapore Airlines. The list goes on with a number of others that have dominated the world stage whether it be in business, community, politics or otherwise. Like the universities in South Australia, universities around Australia have produced many fine graduates. But the thing is, this is being threatened because those out of Hong Kong and those out of Singapore are now looking to universities in other parts of the world like China, the US and Europe rather than maybe going to Australia where they have looked previously. This is backed up by comments from Australian government representatives overseas. Also we have heard the High Commissioner in Singapore say one in 30 Singaporeans had studied in Australia. That is a significant number of students.

What does the university sector say? We have brought the university sector with us on this one. The peak body representing Australia's universities says the reforms are a once in a generation opportunity to shape a higher education system that is sustainable, affordable and equitable for students and the nation. Universities Australia Chief Executive Belinda Robertson said the failure of the package will condemn the university system to an 'inevitable decline'. That is a warning.

What have we heard from Labor on this? It is probably best to quote the Labor luminaries, whether it be Gareth Evans, John Dawkins or others. Gareth Evans wrote in The Australian that the university system badly needs rethinking. He made the pertinent point that every university in the country is funded in exactly the same way for its undergraduate students, regardless of the quality or type of education experience its students receive. It is a common factor of our society that you get value for money. The question could be asked in universities: are you getting value for money from the degrees that are consistently funded across Australia?

Let me move to other members of the Hawke-Keating government. John Dawkins recognised the necessity of these changes and told us openly they are appealing to a Labor opposition to listen. Other Labor figures, such as Maxine McKew and the current shadow Treasurer, Andrew Leigh, are supporters of the deregulation.

Other peak bodies around Australia—and I have touched on Universities Australia—such as the Regional Universities Network, the Australian Technology Network, the Innovative Research Universities, TAFE Directors Australia and the Council of Private Higher Education, all want to see change. They all know change is important for the betterment of their institutions.

TAFEs too know that, with the significant challenges they are facing, the funding arrangements we will provide to TAFE students will be beneficial to their constituency. We are providing more funding for those with associate diplomas and more funding for those who want to do TAFE courses. We will be extending access to 80,000 new students a year.

There will also be significant adverse implications if the higher education reform bill is not passed. As Universities Australia warned, competition for students will increase. Key research infrastructure and fellowships will be unfunded because these reforms are needed to meet the funding cliff that Labor left. We know that Labor cut close to $3 billion out of the university sector in their last years in office.

I return to access because expanding the demand-driven Commonwealth funding system is at a cost of $371.5 million over three years. I mentioned before that we are supporting 80,000 new students, including an estimated 48,000 students in diplomas, advanced diplomas and associate degree courses. We are removing all FEE-HELP and VET FEE-HELP loan fees which are currently imposed on some students.

I now want to touch on Australian universities' global position to put in context where this debate lies and the crossroads our universities are at. They are dropping in world rankings. We cannot afford to be left behind with the rise in the power of Chinese universities and other universities around the world. As the group of eight said recently:

Unless there is reform we will continue to drift, we will fall behind the emerging universities of Asia and we will fall out of touch with the vital global centres of knowledge.

It goes further than that. It goes to one of our largest export industries, which is education, that contributes around $15 billion per year. International students we know impact positively on our local economies. They buy apartments, eat in our restaurants and visit local tourism centres. They invite their family and friends to visit and, importantly, they sometimes stay and make a huge contribution to our society.

In closing I want to make a few vital points. These are historic reforms. These are visionary changes. I again congratulate Minister Pyne on his commitment to these reforms. I also want to put on the public record the work of his office in continuing to pursue these reforms and the work they have done in preparing this vital reform package. These reforms are essential for the future prosperity of our nation and the future success of our universities. Through this package we will have a strong competitive research system. We will have the potential to have some of the best universities in the world.

The alternative is unacceptable. We have heard that from former Labor members. We have heard the arguments for presented by our own side. If we do not take this opportunity to transform higher education, we will retain an unsustainable, outdated system. We risk that system declining into mediocrity and leaving Australia behind. We do not want to be on the wrong side of history. If we do not make change now, our universities are threatened. I support this bill.

Debate adjourned.

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