Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Hughes says there are no cuts and he's accusing us of misleading the parliament. Universities Australia articles say 'Rankings highlight risk of uni funding cuts' and 'Science would be hardest hit by proposed university cuts'. It is Universities Australia and not the Labor Party. The actual sector is saying that you are cutting. You should do some research, Member for Hughes.

A pathway to higher education has never been more important for people living in regional Australia. In my electorate, we have so much to do to increase the number of people engaged in higher education. Torrens University Australia Social Health Atlases states that Braddon's school leaver participation in higher education, at an average of 18.58 per cent, is lower than the Tasmanian and national average. Respected economist and University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor's Fellow Saul Eslake has previously said:

Higher levels of educational participation and attainment won't solve all of Tasmania's economic and social challenges—but they will make them less difficult to solve, not least by sustainably increasing the resources which can be used to solve them.

In my electorate, I have the Cradle Coast Campus of the University of Tasmania, which offers full and associate degrees. It offers a wide range of opportunities for postgraduate study and PhDs in agricultural science through the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture. It works closely with local industry, delivering courses in partnership with the Tasmanian Manufacturing Centre of Excellence for advanced manufacturing in Burnie.

During the 2016 election campaign, the Leader of the Opposition committed $150 million to the UTAS northern transformation project, a project that will transform higher education in my electorate. It will offer even more opportunities for regional students and more study options. UTAS estimates the project will draw more than 12,000 new students and create 3,100 new jobs.

It is somewhat telling that the Prime Minister was shamed into matching Labor's commitments in the dying days of the election campaign. When it comes to accessing higher education opportunities in regional Australia, the coalition doesn't get it. What they do get is cuts to education. They have identified savings, which are cuts, and they certainly do not see education as an investment in our people and in our economy.

This Prime Minister wants to impose an $8 billion cut to universities, charge fees for university enabling courses and reduce the payment threshold for HELP. Overall, these cuts mean $51.3 million will be lost from UTAS. Former UTAS Vice-Chancellor Peter Rathjen has previously been on the public record saying that cuts to UTAS could threaten the future of regional campuses, particularly the Cradle Coast Campus.

These cuts have hit the Higher Education Participation and Partnership Program, HEPPP, which was introduced by Labor, hard. The Liberals and Nationals have already cut nearly $200 million from HEPPP. Under Labor, HEPPP increased Indigenous student numbers by 26 per cent and regional students by 30 per cent, and it supported more than 36,000 extra students from low-income families to attend university.

Embedded in these cuts is a cruel plan by the Prime Minister to start charging fees for university enabling courses. It is almost as if this government does not want to give aspiring students, particularly in regional areas like mine, even the opportunity to attend university. Universities Australia Chief Executive Belinda Robinson recently had this to say about the Prime Minister's cuts:

As our economy changes and old industries face new threats, Australia needs to keep—not cut—our investment in universities to create new jobs, new industries and new sources of income for Australia.

Ms Robinson's message is particularly relevant to the regions where local economies are in transition. Universities Australia also stated that, if the government's legislation and cuts are passed, STEM disciplines will take the biggest hit—35 per cent of the brunt of these cuts—and STEM students will pay higher fees.

Cutting funding, axing programs, putting up fees and reducing the payment threshold for HELP all combine to make it harder and put up more barriers for regional students to obtain a higher education. Young people in regional areas will have to wait for a Labor government to give them a better future.

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