Cameron Thompson (Blair, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education, Science and Training. Will the minister update the House on recent capital investments the government has made in Australia’s universities?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for his question. I know that he, along with other members of the coalition, support the announcement by the Australian government that we will invest $5 billion into an endowment fund for Australia’s universities. This announcement has received widespread support—virtual acclamation—from all vice-chancellors across the country. We have also committed to ensure that this fund grows over time. We will invest more of the budget surpluses over time in this fund so that we have a perpetual growth fund for our universities and so that they can receive potentially billions of dollars for capital works and research infrastructure into the future.

In the face of this universal support for the Higher Education Endowment Fund, what do you think Labor’s response was? Labor was typically churlish. The spokesman on education was out there saying, ‘We could have done that.’ Wrong. Memo to Labor: Labor operates budget deficits. You cannot create an endowment fund out of a budget deficit. Then the member for Perth was out there saying—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! The member for Swan is warned. The member for Melbourne is warned, too. The minister has the call and the minister will be heard.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, Mr Speaker, Labor ought to wake up to the fact that you cannot create a $5 billion endowment fund out of a budget deficit. Then the member for Perth was out there saying, ‘The federal government has just discovered that universities need capital—they have never invested in universities before.’ Wrong. The member for Perth needs to do his homework. Since 1996 this government has invested almost a billion dollars in capital works alone for our universities. In fact, last week I announced a further $62 million for capital for our universities. This is on top of the $32 million for capital I announced in January, this is on top of the $1.7 billion that the Treasurer announced in the higher education package on budget night; this is on top of the $5 billion endowment fund.

The member for Blair will be interested to know that Queensland universities benefited from the $62 million announcement. In particular, we are assisting the University of Southern Queensland to build an education building at the Springfield campus, a health building at the University of the Sunshine Coast and a science building at Griffith University. In New South Wales we are supporting Charles Sturt University with a clinical science teaching facility and the University of Western Sydney with a nursing hub; in Western Australia, a science and engineering building for Murdoch University; in South Australia, at the University of Adelaide, a new building for engineering, computing and mathematical sciences; and, in the Northern Territory, allied health infrastructure for Charles Darwin University. Thirty-four capital works projects have been supported by the Australian government this year alone. I tender the list of those 34 projects that are receiving funding.

This is what a decade of strong economic management can deliver: it can deliver a billion dollars to universities for capital infrastructure alone and it can deliver a $5 billion endowment fund. Once you have paid off Labor’s $96 billion debt and once you operate in budget surpluses, you can provide for the future and invest in our universities.