Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

With this bill, the Turnbull government continues its war on young people. This bill combines massive cuts to our universities with placing greater burdens and very significant disincentives on our students. I am very proud to stand here with all of my Labor colleagues in opposition to the Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (A More Sustainable, Responsive and Transparent Higher Education System) Bill 2017 and in support of the amendment moved by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the member for Sydney. It is worth remembering that the education minister, Senator Birmingham, has already ripped $17.3 billion from schools funding. In doing so, he has seriously undermined both equity and excellence in our school education. He is compounding this attack on young people, on our future, by ripping nearly $4 billion from our universities.

I was reflecting in the second reading debate about the Orwellian title of this bill: 'a more sustainable, responsive and transparent higher education system'. What an extraordinary description of this bill. It is a title that completely belies its contents and their very serious consequences. Those consequences attach to individuals, constraining their aspirations, denying them the capacity to reach their full potential. It shows the poverty of this government's vision for Australia and all Australians, and shows the government's lack of confidence in young Australians.

The Bills Digest, despite what many government members have said in their contributions, really sums it up:

This Bill proposes to amend—

the substantive act—

to reduce Commonwealth funding of tuition costs for undergraduate courses … through increasing the student contribution towards these costs, and reducing the funding universities receive to cover these costs.

It's a pity that government members, in making their contributions, didn't attend to this.

See this speech in context