Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That was a very patriotic speech by my neighbour the member for Maranoa, and I want to make an equally patriotic speech: today I wish to lament the Americanisation of our higher education system in this country. It is a system that our country was once very proud of, because it put a university education within the reach of all Australians regardless of their socioeconomic status. Entry to higher education was on the basis of ability, not ability to pay. It was also a system that, together with the vocational education sector, was seen by former Labor governments as an essential driver of a successful and productive economy. We in the Labor Party understand that access to post-secondary education and training is the key to building a skilled, creative and innovative workforce.

This appears to have been overlooked by the Howard government, as evidenced by the skills shortage we are now experiencing, thanks to its failure to properly support all types of education and training over the past 10 years. Even now it seems that the government does not get it. Instead of investing in the education and upskilling of Australians, it prefers to rely on the quick fix of importing skilled labour from overseas.

In a global environment where most countries are growing their public investment in higher education, the policy emptiness of this government on education is astounding and increasingly counterproductive. In a sector where we need leadership and vision there is only neglect and damaging ideology. The $5 billion that this government has ripped out of higher education since coming to power has created an American system of higher education where entry to university is increasingly tied to your ability to pay. This government has failed to adequately fund universities, forcing them to become heavily reliant on full fee paying international students for much of their income. The remainder of the shortfall is being picked up by students themselves. Australian students and their families are paying more in fees and debt to obtain a degree. The students can only carry the burden of the government’s failings in higher education for so long. We are now seeing the results of the government’s policies.

Domestic enrolments are falling in this country at the same time as communities in my electorate—and, I am sure, right around the country—are crying out for qualified workers. Students are being scared away from a university education, and it is no wonder. Just yesterday the Sunday Mail illustrated very clearly why this is happening. There was an article in that Queensland newspaper which ran through the soaring HECS debts that students are facing on the completion of their degrees. For example, medical students now have a HECS debt of $49,000, compared to $18,000 10 years ago; law students are paying $33,000 in HECS; and engineering students are paying $28,000 in HECS, which is an increase of $16,000.

The response of students to this is not surprising. The article quotes a young man, a University of Queensland second-year student, Jon Piccini, who is 19. It quotes him as saying that the growing HECS debt casts a shadow over his studies and that:

It is definitely a worry for me and all my friends.

The article quotes him as saying that he ‘knew of people who were choosing not to go to university because they didn’t feel they could afford it’. Students have clearly heard the message from the Howard government—that education is out of reach for the average Australian.

I do not know how members opposite feel, but we on this side believe that education is vitally important—and not just to enable individuals to realise their potential: a properly funded university sector will ensure that Australia is producing the world-class graduates we need to fill the positions that underpin our competitiveness and provide important services to our communities. In the current system, where is the support for students wanting to obtain those qualifications? First of all, they see cash strapped universities accepting full fee paying students into the same degree as a Commonwealth supported student but with a lower OP score. The very thought of a full fee paying student being accepted into a university place with an OP score of up to 18 points less than a HECS student is totally contrary to the Australian idea of a fair go and raises legitimate questions about standards in our universities.

Students today can expect to finish university with a huge debt, whether it is incurred through HECS or FEE HELP. They are expected to start work, buy a house and raise a family with this massive debt over their heads. Why does the government think that it is acceptable for a young Australian to start their working life with a debt of $30,000 and upwards, and why would anyone be surprised when they opt out altogether?

This brings me to Central Queensland University, which is the university based in my electorate of Capricornia. It has campuses right up the east coast from Melbourne to Mackay. The Central Queensland University was one of those unis that initially decided not to increase the HECS fees it could charge until it became apparent that, if it did not, there would be serious financial implications. Like many universities, it was in a no-win situation, thanks to the government’s policy of underfunding the sector, and it now finds itself battling to maintain enrolments. Late last year the Central Queensland University was forced to hand back 490 places to the Commonwealth government as a result of a decline in applications for 2006. This hand-back of places was partnered with a subsequent return of some $5 million in funding to the Commonwealth government.

This was obviously a blow for CQU, as it would be for any regional uni to lose funding at a time when they are so strapped for cash. The Vice-Chancellor of CQU, Professor John Rickard, is worried that a continuation in the decline of applications may see future staff reductions at CQU. This is a concern shared by many students, especially those in the smaller, regional campuses outside Rockhampton. The National Tertiary Education Union also has concerns that the quality of students that CQU admits to its programs may drop in order for CQU to make up the numbers. This would be a disastrous move for the university’s standing and reputation and one which I am sure that CQU will be desperately trying to avoid. CQU has attempted to reverse this downtrend in applications through large-scale, localised advertising campaigns as well as offering students reimbursement of late application and change-of-preference fees from QTAC for redirecting their studies to CQU.

There are a number of factors behind the decline in enrolments, which is stated to be around 20 per cent at CQU. No doubt one of these factors is the current commodities boom. Coalmines in Central Queensland are forging ahead, implementing multimillion dollar expansion projects to keep up with the demand for our resources. This means that there are more and more jobs available in the industry and many young Central Queenslanders are taking the option of employment in the mines over tertiary education. Of course, one of the appealing factors contributing to this decision is the high incomes that are on offer in the coalmines. But, as the Sunday Mail article illustrated, another factor is undoubtedly the increasing cost of a university degree. Young students do not want to finish university with a massive debt over their heads, and mature age students, who form a large cohort at CQU, are even more wary of taking on such a burden when they have so many other financial commitments between themselves and their families.

Central Queensland University was not the only regional uni to see a reduction in applications this year, and you can draw a direct link between the fee increases and declining applications at these places. Universities such as James Cook University, the University of Western Sydney, Southern Cross University and Charles Sturt University are just a handful of institutions that have suffered drops in enrolments this year. It is not just this side of politics that can see the link between higher fees and the drop in enrolments. Professor Richard James of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne had this to say in an article in the Australian newspaper in early November last year.

Obviously there’s more concern about the cost of going to university, and all the talk we’ve had in the last year or so about increases in fees and the overall cost of higher education is starting to have a big impact on the community perception of going to university.

That really reinforces the quote I cited earlier from the young student at the University of Queensland in the Sunday Mail. The message is clear: students or potential students are, under this government, seeing education as unaffordable and therefore an untenable prospect. The best way to reverse the trend of lower numbers applying for university places is for the government to start adequately funding these institutions and properly supporting students.

The downwards trend in applications hits regional universities much harder than others. It is not just the university itself that feels the pinch in that situation but the entire community. For example, in Rockhampton, which is the base for CQU, the university is actually the largest employer in town, so any drop in staff members will have a direct impact on Rockhampton’s economy. CQU is also the source of qualified graduates, who provide important services in the Central Queensland University. It is also the centre for research that drives innovation and competition in our local industries. It cannot be allowed to suffer from the government’s policies. (Time expired)