Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, Member for Deakin, you are darn right. It is a great opportunity for people. It helps them as they go through their trade and become a carpenter or a plumber or one of the other trades that millions of people throughout Australia wish to pursue.

I will take this opportunity to say to students that you have wonderful opportunities in this country. If you live in the electorate of Petrie, or anywhere in Australia, you can achieve what you want to achieve. As you move from primary school into high school do the very best you can. There are people around you who love you—your parents and your family. The teachers and principals in these institutions want to see you do well. As a government we, too, want to see you do well. We believe that you can achieve the goals you want to achieve and you can pursue the career you want to follow.

I speak on this bill with pleasure. I support its implementation. I think it is great that the Labor Party is also supporting the bill, but I would ask them to encourage students not to be fearful of attending university, but to know that every student in this country can attend university. We have one of the most wonderful HECS systems in the world, which I support.

See this speech in context