Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

No, it is not. It is not actually an exaggeration. He wants to recap the positions of undergraduate degrees. Your government, the previous government, actually extended the demand driven system to undergraduate degrees. Your shadow minister is opening the door to recapping the positions, which is socialism at university. I am afraid it has to be called for what it is. Your shadow minister for education, Senator Carr, is a member of the socialist faction of the Labor Party. So, if the socialist faction of the Labor Party do not like the name, why don't they change the name? Why do they continue to call themselves the socialist faction of the Labor Party? By his own words, the shadow minister for education has described himself as a socialist. Why don't you ring him and ask him? He will tell you.

These reforms maintain—

Opposition members interjecting—

Isn't it fascinating? Isn't it fascinating how the only moment of passion the Labor Party can raise in this debate is when they are described as what they are, which is trying to reintroduce socialism in universities? That is the part where they try to interrupt the speaker, because they do not want the speaker to make that point.

This reforms maintain the spirit and the objectives of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, which was created by Labor over 25 years ago. One of the interesting things about this debate over the last few weeks has been how the former Labor leaders who introduced the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, and those around the Labor Party at the time who were advising John Dawkins about the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, have been so disappointed in the approach of the Labor opposition to this issue, in walking away from serious reform. They are proposing reforms. John Dawkins is proposing support for this measure. He describes it as not a very significant reform that Labor is opposing. People like Bruce Chapman, the father of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, David Phillips, who was an adviser to John Dawkins when he was the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, and Peter Dawkins, who is an academic who used to work for John Dawkins when he was the education minister, are proposing, through columns and through discussions with the government and the crossbenches, ways of achieving higher education reform, because they are so bitterly disappointed in the Labor Party's approach to this bill. Labor's only approach has been to oppose this bill. People like Maxine McKew, the former member for Bennelong, say that Labor should support reform. Gareth Evans—the former deputy leader of the Labor Party in opposition, the former Senate leader and the Chancellor of the Australian National University—is urging the Labor Party to support reform. So the sensible members of the Labor Party—people who used to believe in reform, in creating jobs, in supporting families and in extending opportunity to more students around Australia—are urging the Labor Party to support this bill: John Dawkins and Gareth Evans.

Here is another one: the member for Fraser, the shadow Assistant Treasurer. He supports reform. He has written about reform. He has had to eat his words.

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