Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

These changes to the ESOS Act through this Education Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 2) Bill 2021 are important. It's an opportunity today to talk about the importance of international education. Obviously, the bill goes to the involvement of those on humanitarian visas and the potential interruption to their education where they have to leave the country. I believe there are just over 4,000 Australians who are permanent residents under protection visas who are affected and who will be better served as a result of these amendments.

In a broader sense, though, my observations today are about how we run our immigration system and, in particular, Australia's proud record of having firewalled UNHCR places, second only to one other nation in the world in generosity. That's because Australia truly has a proud record of immigration in this country, being free of judgement by race or nationality—these are things that we have to be incredibly proud of. They're often not talked up though, and they need to be talked up more. Sadly, I don't come from an electorate that is highly ethnically diverse, but many in this chamber do. They can attest to exactly how our communities have been strengthened by our immigration.

Of course, it's incumbent upon government to make sure that it's done effectively. We're aware of the stresses that can come with immigration and also the important role we have in welcoming those who arrive in this country on a citizen pathway, to have both the opportunity to study and to work. My point today is primarily noting that while education continuity is incredibly important—and there's no disagreement about that; it's why we are having this debate today—we can do better in making sure that families are connected into the economy even before they land.

I'm arguing today that, while we may be amending this act to ensure that there is continuity of study, we can be doing way better even before people leave their origin locations, where they have been determined to be eligible, allowed a visa and due this protection. We could be making these educational bridges even before they arrive, potentially including English language courses before they depart and starting on the reading of resumes and identifying prior learning and experience to make sure that they are able to engage with the Australian economy as soon as they land and are ready to. Our immigration system doesn't do that as effectively as it should. The best data that I'm aware of is nearly a decade old, so we haven't really looked closely, by country of origin, at how successful we are at getting working-age people into study and work.

I argue that, when it comes to immigration, we should have a very, very clear policy that there should be a 100 per cent success rate for people of working age and studying age to be able to do that, should they choose. At the moment, according to the research done back in 2012, we have some very, very poor outcomes for particular economies, although other countries do very well. We can do better, I believe, at the points of departure to be preparing those families or individuals for genuine connection not just to culture but to economy. I don't need to go into detail about the price this nation pays because we don't do that well. I don't need to go into detail about the potential social problems that can befall a household for which under that roof not a single person is employed. It's not impossible that up to 90 per cent of the cohort I'm describing on humanitarian visas can find themselves in that situation.

The current arrangements, where you're directed to a Centrelink office and provided services such as offers of language training but are given no more expectation, fail the Australian value of mutual obligation. While I agree that many of our humanitarian arrivals come from very, very difficult places and have been subject to incredibly traumatic events, that doesn't prevent us initiating the journey towards education and employment assiduously and with the goal of 100 per cent success. Why would you come to Australia, other than for the protection we offer, if not for the opportunities this country has? To be not connected to either education or work puts our system under significant strain and actually undermines the immigration system and the way the rest of our nation views immigration. I think it's really important to take this work first, study first approach. So the tiny change here will prevent interruption and humanitarian visa holders falling out of eligibility for higher education HELP loans. That's great, and that addresses a tiny proportion of those arrivals.

I will conclude where I started. We need to be doing way better, particularly with working-age humanitarian arrivals, to ensure that they have all services available to them even before they leave their points of departure. We need to do tailoring for work, identifying their skills, doing potential matching, identifying a workplace and ensuring they are living somewhere where they can easily get to that work, so they get the best possible start on their path to citizenship in this great nation.

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