Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to continue my contribution and opposition to this government's changes in terms of the university cuts they have enshrined in this Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (A More Sustainable, Responsive and Transparent Higher Education System) Bill 2017, particularly from the perspective of the impact on regional and rural areas, because it is those students and their families that will be most harshly impacted by these many changes.

As I said, many concerned parents have approached me about this government's general cuts to education, but they know that cuts like this mean their children will have so much more lack of opportunity to actually access universities. This bill means that students will be paying more and, in fact, getting less. There is also a proposed 2.5 per cent efficiency dividend on university grants through the Commonwealth Grants Scheme. This will occur in both 2018 and 2019, impacting, of course, on both teaching and program resources. In addition to all of that, as we have said, the government is pursuing an increase of 7.5 per cent in student fee contributions over four years. The reality is that, with those increases in place, so many more students won't be able to afford to get to university and pay those fees. Indeed, with the fee increases, those young people will also have their repayment threshold lowered. That means they have to pay back more and at a much faster rate. Students will start paying back those amounts when they are earning $42,000 instead of $54,000 as it is now.

We also know that this government wants to introduce what can only be described as a very bungled attempt at performance based funding. Whilst we are supportive of the principles of performance based funding, the government has failed to provide adequate information on how this funding pool will be measured or distributed. There is little detail and no consultation on how it would be delivered. In stark contrast to this government's poorly constructed policy, Labor would look to work with the sector with adequate consultation on the best way to introduce a policy on performance based funding. Labor has a real history of reform to our universities. When we were in government we increased investment in universities from $8 billion to $14 billion. We opened the doors to an additional 190,000 Australians to access university. Remember, for many of these students, this represented a huge milestone in their family. They were often the first member of their family to gain a university degree. That is something we are very proud of with our continued investment in education. We made those investments because we know they are not just good for individual students; they are good for the economy overall.

Of course, this government's cuts represent so much more than their efficiency measures. This bill really goes towards our young people being saddled with bigger fees and bigger debts. As I have said, on top of that, the government wants to make these students pay back these debts sooner. That makes it even more unfair in the context of the time line. Those students will have to pay the debts back at the time when they often have the most expenses. They are developing their careers, raising a family and trying to purchase a house. There are so many increased expenses at that time and this government is making it more and more difficult.

We know that our university students already pay the sixth-highest fees in the OECD and we currently have the lowest level of public investment in our universities in the OECD. They are pretty startling figures. The cuts and fee increases in this bill will only make this lack of funding worse and the situation worse. Again, for regions like mine in northern New South Wales, this is really disastrous. My local university, Southern Cross University, has a number of fantastic campuses providing outstanding educational resources. For students from the regions, having their own university is a wonderful initiative. But the Liberal-National plan means the Southern Cross University will have its funding slashed by $22.7 million over the next four years. That is a substantial amount for a regional university. It is a huge funding cut that will impact on its capacity and ability to provide outstanding educational resources to students. As I have said, this is part of the more than $617 million being cut right across New South Wales.

Also, because of those cuts, thousands of jobs will be at risk in our regional universities. As we know, universities are major economic drivers, particularly in the regions. So it's going to have a huge flow-on effect. You've got students not able to get to university, cuts to the university's funding and the impact on regional economies, which is absolutely massive for areas around northern New South Wales in my electorate. Every single cut made and every single dollar taken will impact on the entire sector in a very negative way.

We know that the sector is opposed to the bill. Quite rightly, they have been very outspoken about it. Universities Australia, the peak body for universities, has reported that an overwhelming majority of vice-chancellors could not recommend supporting this bill. They are the people at the front line. They are there every day trying to balance the provision of meaningful education and quality teaching staff and the resources to assist both. That's why, quite rightly, they are also opposed to these very harsh measures. The National Tertiary Education Union, the sector's union, quite rightly is opposed to the bill as well. Many student groups are opposed to the bill. The TAFEs are opposed to it. Almost everyone in the sector is opposed to this bill.

We on this side of the House have been highlighting for the government how so many different areas and interest groups are opposed to the bill. I certainly want to add my voice to those of the families from the regions, who are completely opposed to these very harsh cuts. Now is actually the time to invest in our universities, TAFEs and training because a qualification from such areas can make a huge difference to the future of our young people. In this rapidly changing world, as we know, so many jobs of the future—indeed, so many jobs now—require that post-secondary-school qualification. It is those qualifications that we see this government constantly cutting. It is wrong because the demand for high-level skills is a reality in the world we live in and tertiary education is critical in meeting this demand.

I also want to add that one of the cruellest measures in this bill is the plan to introduce fees for enabling courses. These courses provide essential skills to students who are preparing for university study. Often these students are from disadvantaged backgrounds and need this assistance to get to university. The fact is that, if the government now goes ahead and introduces fees of more than $3, 200 for these courses, many of the students just won't be able to proceed with this. They will be unable to get this assistance and then go onto university, so it's yet another barrier for those people who are disadvantaged.

It really feels like Groundhog Day to be here again talking about the government's cuts to education. The government talks about innovation, yet all they do is cut all the measures that could lead to innovative responses and improvements that can happen. We've seen so many cuts from this government, and I want to point out again that it's only Labor who has delivered real reforms for our universities. In contrast, this bill and this government just continue to deliver cuts. They're not fooling anybody. People in the community are very much aware of the harsh extent that this government has gone to through this bill and, indeed, many others.

We on this side of the House make these points because we know participation in higher education and gaining those skills is not just great for the individual; it's good for the economy and it supports a society that's both productive and prosperous. We have the best interests of students at heart. We know that universities, TAFEs, students and their families really need that help to make sure they can get the quality education they deserve and that it does really provide for a growing economy and better jobs for the future.

I want to finish by highlighting again what a severe impact these cuts will have upon regional and rural Australia and students who have every right to access a decent education. Those families and those students will hold the National Party to account for these harsh cuts. As I say, National Party choices hurt, and this choice the National Party have made to support harsh cuts to our universities will certainly be noted. It is noted; many families raise it with me. Every day up until the next election, the National Party will be held responsible for these harsh cuts they are bringing in which mean kids from the country will not be able to go to university. It is quite despicable that the National Party comes in here and votes this way, yet again, against the best interests of people from country Australia. They do it because they have a abandoned the people of regional and rural Australia.

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