Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I note that this is a matter of public importance that the Leader of the Opposition proposed. He is not here, of course. He is not here to listen to the debate about something he regards as a matter of public importance. Labor has five people in the chamber at the moment. For those who might be listening, they have five people and they regard this as a matter of public importance. I will tell you why they do not really regard this as a matter of public importance. If you had listened to the speech of the Leader of the Opposition, you would have heard no alternative policies given—none. That is how important they regard this issue. In their so-called 'year of ideas', they have not put forward a higher education policy at all.

The Leader of the Opposition is the man who famously said recently: 'If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.' During the course of the last government, where did they get us? In the last two years of their government, they cut $6.66 billion out of higher education. That is actually the Labor Party policy and I suppose that remains the Labor Party policy.

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