Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014. Success of our universities is paramount to the future success of our country. We live in a fast, changing and dynamic world. More than ever, our children must be provided with the skills to enable them to compete in this ever-changing global workplace. More than ever, our universities must have the shackles removed that hinder their ability to provide a dynamic education.

Let me explain. My father's father had a primary school education and a couple of trades—quite normal and acceptable for his time. My mum had a year 10 education; my dad, year 12—again, quite normal and acceptable for their times. My brothers and I all attended university. I went to the University of Western Sydney and studied business; my brother Stephen went to the University of Technology, Sydney for engineering; and my brother Glenn went to the University of Sydney to study commerce. Then my brother Glenn and I decided—perhaps it was sibling rivalry, perhaps a bonding experience—that we would embark on an MBA together. We both enrolled at the AGSM, or the University of New South Wales, and completed our MBA programs. Our decision to go into an MBA was completely based on the fact we had found that, into our 30s, we had reached a glass ceiling in our careers and needed to find another edge to continue our move forward. Comparing our experience to that of our grandparents, for my Pop Scott it was another trade to complement his workshop and for my Pop Allan it was more skills in his trades to enable him to climb the non-commissioned ranks in the Australian Army.

Even looking through my own educational experience, the method in which I have received education has diametrically changed over the last 37 years. Primary school was all about chalk, pencils, overhead projectors and a Commodore 64; high school was whiteboards, data projectors and Windows 2.1; my undergraduate degree was textbooks, CDs and a laptop; and finally, my MBA was iPads, electronic files, electronic notes, online forums, e-libraries and virtual work groups from across the country—all submitted though an electronic portal. My point is: the demands on the educational system to meet our communities' expectations are constantly, incredibly and increasingly dynamic.

The employment market is also dynamic and changing. So it is only logical that today's children in Lindsay will need different skills for tomorrow's workforce than those that are needed in today's. In fact, the jobs that many of our children will do have possibly not even been created yet.

The Penrith Business Alliance predicts that in 20 years time the manufacturing sector in our region will employ only five per cent of people in the Penrith area. Yet, as part of our growth centre objectives, the growth of our region is to move to concentrate more on jobs in the areas of health, education, technology and community service. We need reform to ensure our tertiary institutions are up to the job. We need to ensure that our tertiary institutions equip our children to perform these jobs and, in turn, secure the economic success of our region. We need to constantly reform and re-evaluate what we do to ensure that the kids of today are prepared and are keen to work across all of these growth sectors. And this generation of children needs a curriculum base that is going to prepare them for a whole new world and whole new fields to be opened up by our university sector. That is why this government keeps talking about the need for reform, and that is why the Minister for Education and Training is so passionate about taking this to a new level. He is looking at reform from the ground up.

At the other end of the spectrum is where our universities are heading right now. From my observations, they are signing deals today to feed into the innovation, health and community service sectors of tomorrow. The new courses and new fields—that I as a university student could only dream about—include fields like civionics, where civil engineering meets electronics. For my older brother, who went to UTS and has a civil engineering degree, these are quite exciting advances. Fields like these will revolutionise technique, our technology and the efficiencies of our structures. Yet a decade ago these fields did not exist. Our universities have to be entering and investing in new fields and signing new deals if they are to remain relevant and competitive with the rest of the world.

They have a further issue, and that is more and more student demand. Universities are becoming increasingly accessible and more people than ever are getting a tertiary education. In my parent's generation, very few people had a university experience. In my generation, around 50 per cent of people went onto university. Today university is available to anyone who wants to study and further their career. It is not the sandstone walled fortress it once was. And university has become more attractive to people—as they strive to deliver subjects that will help start students on their career journey.

That is all fantastic news—except for one thing: the money has to come from somewhere. Now there are different ways in which a university can achieve this, but let me say this: if we are to truly help them, we must cut the red tape and allow the university sector to compete for students in a world where they are not hamstrung by legislation. Some people say that is code for allowing them to jack up prices. And some prices may increase. But against that, other course costs will fall. The benefit of freeing up the system will see universities being better able to meet demand as well as being able to compete for students and to become more flexible as the nature of studies change.

One part of this debate that I do find interesting is where people refer to universities jacking up prices. The concern that I have is that really they are saying that universities are irresponsible organisations that really do not think about the needs of their students. I think that the vice-chancellors and chancellors across Australia find that quite offensive. To that end, the University of Western Sydney is one institution driving innovation and investment. In November, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine as part of the landmark China-Australia free trade agreement. This relationship will allow for a new research-led Chinese medicine clinic in Sydney, better patient care and the potential for Australia to tap into the $170 billion global traditional Chinese medicine market. The aim is to encourage the use of complementary medicines as an alternative treatment in the doctor's surgery. The University of Western Sydney is the first Chinese-accredited organisation in the Western world to tap into this traditional Asian market, which is thousands of years old. It will create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs, bring a skills revolution into the region and transform the way we here in Australia and the Western world—and more importantly for me, in Western Sydney—look at alternative medicine.

But it does not end there—the University of Western Sydney is also in a joint venture with the federal government with the development of the Werrington Park Corporate Centre. This building, currently in development, will bring 400 jobs into my electorate—and it is not just 400 jobs, it is 400 smart jobs in health and education. This great work cannot be simply undone by a system that is already in demand and covered in red tape.

With massive investments necessary—and costs rising—all sides of politics agree Australia's current higher education and research system is unsustainable. So how do you rein in these costs? The previous Labor government tried to deal with this by making cuts. They made no attempt to bolster revenue to universities in spite of knowing that more revenue was needed. In fact, under their watch the international education market is estimated to have fallen from $19 million in 2009-10 to $15 billion when they left office. This government wants to strengthen our higher education system and make it more sustainable in the long term. We believe the higher education system must be fair and equitable for all Australians and this bill ensures just that. We want to provide the system with Australian students, university ready. We want investment into world class research facilities in areas that will produce the jobs of the 21st century. We need our universities to be relevant. Within reason, we want to give our universities the power to compete and set their own fee structures. And we want students protected from unrealistic debt burdens.

This bill aims to spread opportunity to more students, especially disadvantaged and rural and regional students; equip Australian universities to face the challenges of the 21st century; and ensure Australia is not left behind by intensifying global competitions and new technologies. Students are big winners under this bill. This very important piece of legislation ensures that HECS will be kept in line with the CPI—this means that there will be no changes to the HECS indexation rate. The government also plans to introduce a five-year HECS indexation pause for primary carers of a newborn baby who are earning less than the HECS minimum repayment threshold, around $50,000. Government funding will also be available to eligible higher education students studying accredited undergraduate degrees at all approved higher education institution providers, including private colleges and TAFEs. This will mean an estimated 80,000 additional students will receive Commonwealth support every year by 2018. Plus there will be more scholarships on offer with a Commonwealth scholarships scheme where $1 of every $5 of additional revenue raised by higher education providers will go towards helping students that need help the most.

According to the 2011 census data, the most common occupations in my electorate of Lindsay include clerical and administrative workers at 18.8 per cent, technicians and trades workers at 15 per cent, professionals at 14.3 per cent, machinery operators and drivers at 10.5 per cent, and managers at 10.1 per cent. Most of these occupations require some form of study. This bill will allow more people from all walks of life to access adequate and fair education and gain the necessary skills they require to pursue a career of their choice—to access those smart jobs that are on their way to Lindsay.

I would like to talk briefly about the New Colombo Plan. Under the New Colombo Plan 95 students from UWS have secured opportunities to study overseas. Recently the Minister for Foreign Affairs came to meet some of these students. She has said:

… the New Colombo Plan has been raised as a great example of the connectivity that is required in our region, building government-to-government links, people to people, university to university, business to business.

The minister went on to say that we are investing in our students and we are investing in our future, and I agree with her. Investing in our higher education system is important for our future, for all Australians. In a world of growing international competition, Universities Australia has warned us about the risk of Australia being left behind. Currently our universities have limited prospects of competing with the best in Europe and North America and the fast-developing universities of Asia. Five years ago there were no Chinese universities in the top 200 universities in the Shanghai Jiao Tong index of universities. Today there are five. In the same period only one Australian university has entered the top 200, joining six Australian universities already there. We face the prospect of our universities falling behind, or we can do something about it now. It is essential that we look at how we can make our universities more competetive.

I see so much opportunity for the people of Western Sydney. I see the partnerships under which the University of Western Sydney has done so much to drive forward and create opportunities and jobs for tomorrow. I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context