Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education. Cheryl Hatzidellis is a 48-year-old mother of two studying law at university in Brisbane. Cheryl has been a working mum for most of her adult life and is worried that she does not have enough super on which to retire. Cheryl is concerned that she may never be able to pay off her university debt, because of the government's unfair university changes. Minister, why is the government so determined to Americanise our universities, leaving people like Cheryl with a debt sentence?

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

That question bears a remarkable similarity to the question from the member for Lalor. The only difference is that the person being quoted is Cheryl, and not Michele.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

There will be silence from the member for Kingsford Smith.

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

Therefore, I did answer the question that was put to me before by the member for Lalor, and that answer remains extant, which is that Cheryl might well attract a Commonwealth scholarship, which would be a terrific outcome.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Wakefield.

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

If she never earns $50,000 a year she will never have a call on the contribution that has been made to her by the taxpayer and for which she will bear part of the burden by paying it back. She will not have to pay it back if she does not earn over $50,000 a year. If she does earn over $50,000 a year, she will be asked to pay it back at the lowest interest rate she will ever receive for any loan in her life. Even then she will be asked to pay back only two per cent of the cost of that debt, until she starts earning a greater income. So the government has put in place something that previous governments did—the Hawke, Keating and Howard governments, which started the higher education loan program, HECS—because they could see that there was no such thing as free education, that somebody had to pay for it, and, without the students making a contribution, the taxpayer pays the entire burden of the cost, yet there is a major private benefit. I take my hat off to Cheryl for going to university, for taking the chance to improve her skills base.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The Leader of the Opposition will desist. The member for Gorton is warned.

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

We are helping her by giving her the opportunity to borrow every single dollar of her share of the cost of her education from the Australian taxpayer.

Mr Dutton interjecting—

That is a very good point from the Minister for Health: is Labor now promising free education for every student? Is that what Labor is promising? Are they now promising to remove the higher education loan program?

Honourable members interjecting—

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

The Treasurer will desist and there will be silence on my left.

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

Is that their latest multibillion dollar promise to the Australian taxpayer that they will have to explain at the next election. I do not think so.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Chifley.

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

So stop being such a pack of hypocrites. Only today University Australia, which represents 39 public universities, has released a press release.

Honourable members interjecting—

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

The Minister for Agriculture will desist.

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

The press release said:

The quality, performance, competitiveness and reputation of Australia's higher education sector will be condemned to a path of inevitable decline if, in the absence of increased public investment, the Government's higher education proposals are discarded in their entirety, according to peak university body, Universities Australia.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Isaacs is warned.

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

So the opposition is completely out of step with the university sector. They are the only ones who believe that there needs to be no reform to universities in Australia.