Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about me?

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, no truer word spoken!

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The current cost of a nursing degree averages around $18,000. Will the Prime Minister guarantee that the cost of a nursing degree will not exceed the average starting salary in nursing of around $48,000 today as a result of his broken promise?

Mr Shorten interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister has the call, and the Leader of the Opposition will desist and allow the answer to proceed.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know this is difficult for members opposite, but in a deregulated system fees can move up and fees can move down.

What can be guaranteed in a deregulated system, in a market system, is that institutions will not try to price themselves out of the market. All I can assume is that the shadow minister opposite thinks that institutions are so stupid that they will destroy themselves. Well, they are not. They are not. We will give them the freedom that they need to be as good as they can be, and I do not know why members opposite are so frightened of freedom. Why are members opposite so frightened of freedom? Why do they think so ill and so little of our institutions that they want to keep them in chains?