Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak tonight in support of the Higher Education Support Amendment (Response to the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report) Bill 2023. I'm happy to say that I'm absolutely committed to advancing the cause of higher education and championing the aspirations of our young and mature-age people. This is why I'm supporting the higher education support amendment bill 2023. This is a bill that will help steer the future of education in our country in a positive direction.

The Albanese Labor government recognises the power of education to uplift individuals and entire communities, and I do too. Where I live, on the South Coast of New South Wales, access to education is vital. It's the difference between being able to have a secure, well-paying job, a profession you care about and being able to provide for your family. It's about a thirst for more knowledge regardless of age or background, and being able to see things differently, which ultimately benefits our communities. As a former TAFE teacher at the Nowra campus and a tutor at the Shoalhaven campus of the University of Wollongong for over a decade, I certainly have seen the immense benefits that learning pathways can provide for local people. It can be truly life changing. It's why I will always champion the opening of more doors of opportunity, ensuring that more people can access all the benefits of higher education.

I'm proud that the Albanese Labor government is helping to enact the changes that will make education more accessible and more equitable. Our commitment on this is plain to see. In our short time in government we have done a lot. We brought in fee-free TAFE in skill shortage industry areas. Not only that, but we've continued to increase our commitment. The Albanese Labor government is investing in 300,000 fee-free TAFE places to address areas of need. That's directly benefiting 2,700 apprentices in my electorate of Gilmore. As a former TAFE teacher and also a work-placement coordinator, I certainly understand how vitally important a quality TAFE and vocational education and training system is to developing a skilled workforce, re-engaging an unemployed and underemployed workforce and providing essential upskilling to mature-age workers.

I've seen the benefits of fee-free TAFE in my community. Earlier in the year I visited Nowra TAFE and spoke with students who were participating in the fee-free TAFE program. The opportunities that these students now had access to were life changing. I spoke to a young woman from Bawley Point who was retraining to be a chef. She told me that there were employment opportunities near her home for apprentice chefs. She wanted to do the work, and people wanted to employ her for it, but she couldn't afford to retrain until she got a free-free TAFE spot. Now she's retraining and she's employed near her home. She told me point blank that if it weren't for fee-free TAFE she wouldn't be there. There were so many more stories just like hers. That shows how serious and effective the Albanese Labor government's approach to education and training is. There were businesses in need of chefs near Bawley Point, and there were people who lived in the area willing to do the work. All they needed was a little help getting retrained, and we've provided them with the avenues to do this, and that's just in TAFE.

We've also created an additional 4,000 university places over the next four years to support graduates from STEM disciplines. We've invested $72 million to build and retrain the early childhood education workforce nationally. We're investing to help around 75,000 early childhood educators to complete professional development training. We're providing support to 6,000 current early childhood educators to complete more study. We're connecting 2,000 early childhood education students to complete placements and strengthen workforce supply. That's just some of what we've already done, but we're far from finished.

This brings me to the higher education support bill 2023. This bill will further the Albanese Labor government's improvements to the higher education sector. It will improve access for those who need and deserve it, and it will get better outcomes. These improvements to the sector come from consultation with the industry itself. We've taken the expert advice. What I mean by that is that we've embraced the recommendations of the Australian Universities Accord interim report. This was a comprehensive document crafted by a team of leaders who are experts in their respective fields. I'm proud to acknowledge the outstanding members of the accord team, including the chair, Professor Mary O'Kane AC; the Hon. Jenny Macklin ACT; and Professor Larissa Behrendt AO. Their combined and bipartisan expertise has guided us in crafting a bill that reflects our shared commitment to excellence and inclusivity in higher education.

The accord's recommendations show our dedication to the core principles of fairness, equity and support for all students. What are the recommendations of the accord? The first recommendation is to create more university study hubs, not only in our regions but also in our outer suburbs, ensuring that no Australian is left behind due to geographic constraints. This is a brilliant recommendation and one I'm happy to support. I know from experience how life-changing these university study hubs can be.

In my electorate, we have a university hub. It's the Country Universities Centre Southern Shoalhaven Ulladulla campus—and it's brilliant. I've been there many times and have seen how these services can change lives. The Country Universities Centre at Ulladulla is a dedicated learning and study space. All people in the Shoalhaven region who are studying higher education at any Australian university or non-university higher education provider can study at the Country Universities Centre. The centre has the space and facilities to support students in completing their studies. It removes the barriers to education all too often faced by people who live in the country. Whether a student needs a broadcast studio, a quiet study, break-out rooms or just an internet connection, the Ulladulla hub helps people who live in my region achieve their educational goals. It has been designed by regional people for regional people, and it's working. But our electorate is a large one. It takes over four hours to drive its length.

So, while the Country Universities Centre in Ulladulla is fantastic, we need more. And I'm going to advocate for more in my region. I'll be able to do this because the Albanese Labor government committed $66 million to establish 34 new hubs in areas without a significant physical university campus and where the percentage of the population with a university qualification is low. That will benefit so many who live in the regions. Communities like mine will receive study hubs to combat some of the challenges faced by those in the regions enrolling in education programs.

Adopting the recommendations of the accord to create more regional study hubs shows the Albanese Labor government's commitment to education. But this bill will also support the other four recommendations of the interim report. Another recommendation of this report, which the Albanese Labor government will implement, is to scrap the 50 per cent pass rule. The 50 per cent pass rule was introduced in January 2022 by the former government. It was part of their job-ready graduates program—and it has been a failure. The former government's measures were unnecessarily punitive and disproportionately impacted marginalised students. The rule removed students' Commonwealth supported study assistance and access to HELP loan assistance if a student couldn't fulfil a 50 per cent pass requirement.

In its short time in operation, the 50 per cent pass rule has been so damaging. Already 13,000 students have been directly impacted by the 50 per cent pass rule—that's thousands of students who have had their education taken away all because the former government didn't understand the intricacies and complexities of higher education. Well, either they didn't understand or they didn't care. Either way, the rule was unnecessarily punitive and poorly thought out.

The 50 per cent pass rule disproportionately impacted regional students, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and students who are otherwise underrepresented or disadvantaged—the very people who stand to gain most from higher education. This was unfair and unnecessarily cruel. This is one of the reasons I am proud to support this bill, which is going to remove the 50 per cent pass rule. The Albanese Labor government recognises that success is not measured by arbitrary thresholds but by the progress and determination of each individual.

I want to see students helped to succeed, not be forced to quit. This bill doesn't just remove the 50 per cent rule, though; it will help students succeed. The higher education accord bill will introduce requirements for universities and other providers to have policies in place to help students complete their studies. They will need to be able to identify students who are struggling and then help those students connect to services to help them. These services include providing housing information, mental health support, crisis support and financial assistance because many students struggle in higher education due to non-academic issues, and supporting them to get the best outcomes they can is the right thing to do. Universities will be required to comply with—

Debate interrupted.

See this speech in context