Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In 1999 the Prime Minister promised the Australian community that there would be no $100,000 degrees under his government. He actually used the words:

The government will not be introducing an American style higher education system. There will be no $100,000 university fees under this government.

Just like the Prime Minister’s promise to keep interest rates at record lows, John Howard’s promise on the $100,000 degrees was not worth the paper it was written on. The recent release of the Good Universities Guide 2007 shows full fee paying degrees in medicine can now cost over $230,000, which, as we know, is around the cost of the average mortgage in Australia. More than 100 Australian university courses across the nation next year will carry a price tag of at least $100,000. In fact in my state of New South Wales alone there will be 41 full fee degrees costing undergraduates $100,000 or more. Courses in optometry, law, veterinary science and applied science all cost in excess of this figure.

It is my view and the view of my party that it is fundamentally wrong to have a US style system where money talks louder than merit. It is heartening that my local university, the University of Wollongong, has long refused, on the grounds of equity, to offer these full fee paying courses. In the words of Vice-Chancellor Gerard Sutton:

... it’s a conscious decision because the judgement of UOW is that ... full fee places stop people from the lower socio-economic groups from enrolling in Universities ... the argument for me is not that they’re paying $100,000 or $200,000. It’s that it will have a negative effect on the participation rate of those from the low socio-economic group. For us, it’s an issue of principle.

Well said, Vice-Chancellor. How right you are.

I am pleased to say that Labor in government will put an end to full fee places for Australian undergraduates at public universities. Under a Labor government students will gain access to higher education according to their merits and not by their or their family’s financial means. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Vice-Chancellor, staff and students at the University of Wollongong for their efforts, which again this year have seen our university gain outstanding success. According to the latest Good University Guide the University of Wollongong was among only four universities across the nation to score at least eight five-star ratings over 19 categories. The university achieved five-star ratings on a number of key indicators, including graduate satisfaction and positive outcomes, getting a job, starting salaries for graduates and staff qualifications. Our central campus at Wollongong maintained its status as one of the most difficult universities to get into across the nation. As the vice-chancellor commented in a recent media article:

... it’s good news for the students and graduates of the University. We have had increased numbers last year because of the guide and I am sure the demand will exceed supply again next year, which brings money into the city.

As the federal member covering many students who attend that university, let me say how proud I am of the efforts of a regional university which now scores very well alongside the ranks of the more elite sandstone universities that have been operating for a considerable period of time. I think it is wonderful news that the University of Wollongong was for a number of years rated the university of the year.

I want to convey to the vice-chancellor and to the staff and students that the Illawarra community is incredibly proud of our university, its close connections to the community, its very significant contribution to our regional economy, its significant research output—ground-breaking research in a number of its schools—its commitment to quality and innovation, as we will see in the development of the new medical school, and for continuing to provide an excellent learning environment for all its students.