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

It is with much pride that I rise today to talk about these university reforms. With regard to the contribution from the previous member, I would like to point out to them that many peak bodies and many experts within the higher education sector massively support these new reforms—firstly, Universities Australia; secondly, Regional Universities Network; the Australian Technology Network; the Innovative Research Universities; TAFE Directors Australia; Council of Private Higher Education; and the Australian Council for Private Education and Training. These are some of the peak bodies in our country that are supporting these changes.

I would also like to ask the Labor Party about their good friend David Gonski. David Gonski is the Chancellor of the University of New South Wales. Maybe they do not give a 'gonski' what Gonski says anymore. On the deregulation of university fees, David Gonski told The Australian on 2 September last year:

I think that the government are correct in this and I think that there is a real chance that the deregulation of fees—rather than making universities richer and so on—that they could produce further monies from doing that to be ploughed back to make them even greater,” he said. “To improve the student experience, have higher teacher-student ratios, etc.”

Mr Gonski added that it was his hope that “if you have deregulation that is good for the industry, that it doesn’t cause undue harm to students, financially’’.

David Gonski supports this deregulation. But I stand here today as the member for Lindsay. As the member for Lindsay, I support the University of Western Sydney, the university that is within my own electorate of Western Sydney. Professor Peter Shergold has made a massive contribution and has chaired the minister's Quality, Deregulation and Information Working Group. I understand that Professor Shergold has made significant contributions in working with this group and providing assistance to the minister in the area of deregulation of higher education. He has been significant in this.

The University of Western Sydney is an innovative and robust university that works with people right across the community. The University of Western Sydney has further gone to China to work with the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine—an agreement that will bring $20 million to the people of Western Sydney. Together with the regional cities program, we are seeing massive investment into the community, where our university will be the bedrock.

Our university will be one of the most essential pillars to create jobs for the people of Western Sydney. And what do you want to do? You want to stop jobs for the people of Western Sydney. You want to stop people from getting state-of-the-art education. You do not want to see any university in the top 20 of the world. You guys are completely delusional.

Professor Barney Glover, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Sydney, said:

The University of Western Sydney, like the rest of Australia's higher education sector, needs certainty regarding the policy, funding and regulatory environment in which it operates. This is critical to ensuring we are able to compete internationally, but also pivotal to enabling us to help drive the development of Western Sydney, Australia's third-largest economy.

You guys want to stop this. These reforms will provide the university with the autonomy and certainty which will allow it to thrive in the marketplace.

I am also pleased to note that these reforms in the amendment will also enable the University of Western Sydney to better target their programs and courses to meet the specific needs of students in greater Western Sydney.

These are reforms to a community that lives today anywhere between a 180,000 and 220,000 job deficit. We want to see jobs in Western Sydney. We want to see smart jobs in Western Sydney. I will fight for jobs for the people of Western Sydney. That is what is important. All you guys opposite want to do is to stop this country from getting ahead. You want to stop us from being globally competitive. You want to stop our education sector from being able to get onto its feet and show that we can be a thriving sector.

We need to see our service industries move to the top of our economic charts. We want to see our education being even more exported internationally. We want to see our own local students grow up to be wonderful professionals within our community. That is what the University of Western Sydney is doing. That is what this deregulation is about. I would hope you will get your heads out of the sand and start supporting the communities you represent.

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