Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, is it not the case that, under the government’s full-fee approach, in university lecture theatres around Australia students are sitting side by side with students who have substantially different cut-off scores and are under different payment regimes? Is it not the case that a student may miss out on a place at university but another, with a lower mark, can buy their way in? Does the Prime Minister think it is fair that merit is outscored by money in Australian universities? With the government abolishing the 35 per cent cap, won’t that just get worse?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not think there is any doubt that as a result of the reforms announced in the budget speech on Tuesday night things will get immeasurably better in Australian universities. That is not just my view. I remind you it is the view of every vice-chancellor who has spoken on this subject since Tuesday night. We all know that the academic community of this country does not normally represent a chorus of praise for this government. It is often the case that we are criticised, I think unfairly, on occasions. Nonetheless, we respect freedom of speech as we respect academic freedom. People are free to express their views. The Leader of the Opposition and the member for Perth are clutching at straws on this issue because the Leader of the Opposition has been caught out. He has to make a choice. He has to fess up either to not knowing his own party’s policy or to being heavied out of doing something he wanted to do. That in reality is what the Leader of the Opposition faces. He knew, when he did that first interview on Sky, that the policy position his party had was absurd. He knew it discriminated against Australians. He is now having a mock, humorous conversation with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Treasurer. They confect humorous disinterest.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order as to relevance.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister was asked a question about universities. He is in order. I call the Prime Minister.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me say to the member for Perth, through you, Mr Speaker, that what I would regard as monstrously unfair and monstrously discriminatory would be a situation where you could have full fee paying foreign students sitting side by side with HECS funded Australian students in the full knowledge that Australian students would like to be sitting beside those HECS funded students but were not allowed to do so by an anti-Australian Labor Party policy.