Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Not content with ripping $31 million in funding from schools in the Chifley electorate, the Turnbull government is trying to make life even harder for young students aspiring to give back to their community. We all know in Western Sydney how important a university education is to help people get ahead and contribute to society, but the Turnbull government is slamming that door shut for many permanent residents. I have been approached by a local school's career adviser about changes to Commonwealth-supported university places. Government proposals mean many permanent residents will not qualify for a Commonwealth-supported university place and will bear the cost of that degree.

One example is a New Zealand citizen, a year 12 student at Loyola Senior High who has lived in Australia for five years. He grew up in a family affected by domestic violence and has dreams of becoming a social worker and working with the Pacific Islander community in the local area. His degree will now cost him over $90,000. Another student is a Syrian migrant who arrived in Australia in 2015. He is an outstanding maths student who is aiming to become a maths teacher. His degree will now cost over $100,000. They are just two examples of the thousands of students across the country affected by these brutal changes from a government that says they support Australia innovation but whose policies indicate otherwise. This change undermines the accessible nature of our university system, causing uncertainty for our permanent residents. Not only is the Turnbull government trying to make it harder for permanent residents to gain citizenship; it is making it outrageously expensive for them to get a degree.

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