Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker Mitchell, it is a pleasure to be speaking in front of you today, in particular. I noted the comments of the member for Fairfax, and I found the logic of some of the points he made very fascinating, given that he is a significant champion of deregulation in the industry sector and of having a voice from the sector influence government. It is no different in this instance, where universities are saying to us: 'We as an industry want change and reform that will enable us to provide the programs, courses and opportunities for young Australians.' Member for Charlton, it is always interesting when we make reference to comparative studies of other countries, because when we do comparatives with other countries we also have to consider the variables that came into play that we do not talk about in this chamber, because any comparative study can be flawed in the way in which it is undertaken and where the comparisons are. I do not disagree with your argument that maybe Newcastle will be affected, but there is nothing wrong with people having choices to cherry pick courses and be cherry picked for courses at universities that give them the optimum pathway to a career. That is what I see the legislation doing.

I do support the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014, because, having had experience as a pro-chancellor of the university, I have seen the way in which the regulatory framework and the legislation inhibit us from creating niche concepts and constructs within a university. If I could take that experience from then to now, I know that I would have relished the changes that are proposed in this bill.

This is the second time I have spoken in support of the higher education reforms in this chamber. I am pleased that higher education is being so vigorously debated, and I am pleased that both houses of the parliament have been working at getting this package right. I would ask that those who are opposed at the moment give serious consideration to the voice of the industry, who are asking for this reform, who see that there is a need for it. We should not be blockers. It does not matter whether it is the opposition or crossbenchers—open your minds and think about what it is the industry are asking for. I have seen, time and time again within this chamber, members on both sides standing up and arguing that the industry representation has to be considered in respect of the bill that we are debating at the time, and this is no different. If the industry are calling for it, then let us enact the legislation for it to occur.

I am not impressed with the misrepresentations of those opposite. We need to ensure a strong and vibrant education sector which prepares students for their future career pathways. We cannot delude ourselves into thinking that the current higher education system is meeting those needs. In my electorate of Hasluck, on average 30 minutes from Perth city, only one in six young people takes up higher education. For me, that is far too low. Meanwhile, one in 10 young people in my electorate of Hasluck is counted among Australia's unemployed. That is too high.

At the moment, Australia's higher education system is not working as well as it could. This gives us an opportunity to enable it to do that. The whole construct of scholarships—I will not cite the figures because I have heard them in many members' speeches—creates an opportunity in a way that does not exist at the moment. There are many in this chamber who did receive free education. That was at a time when a government made that decision. But a person whom I regard as a good friend and whom I admire and respect, John Dawkins, as the minister for education, realised that it was not sustainable, that there was a need to have people pay their way, and he introduced a system in which all of us, with the degrees that we undertook, contributed to our higher education. It is interesting when you have Maxine McKew also calling for the passage of this bill through both houses. Belinda Robinson has made very strong cases.

Our higher education system could be more accessible to young people. Our higher education system is a crucial step which leads to jobs for more young people, by equipping them with the skills they need for the future. When we are in government, if something is not working, we have to do something about it. If the industry tell us it is not working and they want reform, then let us encourage it. Let us support them. The reforms will do something about higher education and improve on the status quo. I admit that we have a great university system. It has served us well. But we are moving into a contemporary global period in which Australia has to be highly competitive, and we need to encourage as many young people as possible to take those pathways—although not everybody wants a university course, and I acknowledge that, because there are many who want to apprenticeships and trades et cetera.

The reforms will do something about higher education, and improve on the status quo, as I have said. We have overwhelming evidence that change is needed, and I would encourage the opposition to get on board for the common sense and the common good of our country.

The reforms would, for example allow more young people in my electorate of Hasluck to access higher education. The reforms would see more young people in my electorate qualify for Commonwealth support for their higher education. It is estimated that an extra 80,000 students will get this support for bachelor degrees; certificates 2, 3 or 4; diplomas and advanced diplomas. What a great way of encouraging young people into pathways.

This is an important point for my electorate of Hasluck, and the electorates of all members in this chamber. For the first time, the government would be supporting students undertaking a wider range of degree types. This includes the associate degrees and diploma courses that provide them with the knowledge and skills that they can directly apply in jobs. Diploma courses provide important pathways for less prepared students, giving them the opportunity to develop the skills needed for further study.

I am pleased we can lower fees for young people to encourage them to undertake these courses, and give them the best chance of success in their future pathways. The reforms would also mean that young people would not have to pay the unfair loan fees as they currently do. This, in turn, will mean that they will not have to pay higher interest rates if they are caring for young children and are earning below the minimum repayment threshold. That is an important point in the reforms.

For the young people who need it, these reforms would ensure their access to the largest Commonwealth scholarship scheme ever. The reforms would offer free education to the brightest students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. In my own electorate and in my own life experiences I have seen so many people from lower socio-economic backgrounds who never have the opportunity to go beyond their secondary schooling. And if we are in a position, as a Commonwealth, to encourage them and give them opportunities under the new reforms, then we should take that step and enable that to occur.

Young people in Hasluck are not studying for the sake of studying. They are studying so that they can get a job. I am confident that the proposed changes are focussed on their needs. They will be able to access more information about the quality of the courses and institutions they are considering. Young people and their families will be able to log on to a website that will give them access to the information about what students and employers think of the courses they are considering, because there is no sense in doing a course that is not going to lead to a job, and where there is not a market for those occupations. Young people will be able to find out how successful previous graduates have been at finding jobs.

Once they are enrolled in a course of study at TAFE or uni, these reforms will mean that students with a low socio-economic status will not be left to battle it out alone. These reforms will increase their access to tailored support, including assistance to help with costs of living, tutorial support, and assistance at other critical points in their study. I have seen that with respect to a niece of mine, who is studying at UWA. The levels of support and interaction are tremendous but if we could make that universally available to any Australian student then it augers well for our country.

Higher education institutions will exercise the right to set fees in a competitive market. Higher education institutions have shown that they can be relied on to act responsibly in doing so. Our universities believe that without these reforms, our $15 billion education services industry would be at risk.

As I told this chamber in September last year, we cannot equip these young people for tomorrow using practices of yesterday. There has been a debate for many years on how to reform the higher education system. John Dawkins and others who have followed have certainly attempted to make significant reforms for the betterment of our society.

There is an almost universal commitment to the what; we are here to settle the how. Finally, after 33 reviews of the higher education system, there is almost universal commitment by universities and their governing bodies to the government's reforms. We have the opportunity in this session to fix Australia's higher education system, and to future-proof it for our young people. That is the story I want to take back to the electorate of Hasluck.

I want to tell the 40 students from Lumen Christi College in Martin—who were among the 80 per cent at their school to achieve the results they need to get into their first preference of university course—and I want to tell the students in the government schools in my electorate that I want them to benefit from a higher education experience that they have worked for. I want these students to enter a higher education system that is working for them, and is flexible enough to adapt to the world they live in.

In relation to this debate, two experiences have struck me. One was when I was in the United Arab Emirates, where I went to university world. When they took us through university world I was fascinated at the number of universities that had established campuses in the UAE. It was to facilitate flexible study arrangements that would allow students from anywhere in the world to go and study. I could walk from the campus established by Harvard to an Australian university campus established there. And what I got was the best of what was available. It gave me ideas and concepts for the reforms that we need in this country, because it is flexibility and choice that is important.

In the ASEAN delegation when I visited Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, we had discussions around the flexibility of universities and the opportunities that would prevail for Asian students coming to Australia. With such flexible approaches by Australian universities, those countries were also keen to have relationships and possibly become a hub to ensure that higher education was available to any Asian student from any country in that region to that they could study and to have choices. They talked about the historic connection to the United Kingdom. In those discussions the Australian members of the delegation suggested that Australia should be a principal port of call, because our universities were moving towards the top 100 and because the government was ambitious to ensure that the reforms that would take place would make our universities equivalent.

The other element that I think we have to factor in to giving our universities the opportunity to be able to undertake reforms is the competition that they may have in the future from online education from universities that are prepared to provide courses to Australian students online while not requiring them to go overseas. Technology has improved substantially. I see it in Australia now, where students do not front classes—they can do them from their lounge rooms. They do their assignments, they submit them and they participate in the chat rooms. And it will not be long before our universities face the threat of Harvard, Oxford and some of the world-leading universities, including from China, offering courses here, to the detriment of our higher education sector.

So I would encourage the opposition and the crossbenchers to give serious consideration to this bill and to consider not the context of today and some of the arguments that I have heard but to think about a future in which we have future-proofed opportunities for our students and for those who wish to undertake university studies. That should be paramount in our thinking when this bill goes back to the Senate, because we have an obligation to be leaders and to make the reforms that the industry is asking for—to support the request for those reforms and to allow our universities to operate in a way that gives them greater flexibility and increases the opportunity for the number of our students wishing to study courses that will lead to jobs not only in our own states and territories in in Australia but to be competitive anywhere within the world.

I certainly support this higher education reform bill.

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