Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education. Yesterday the minister challenge the opposition to ask the Australian Technology Network of universities about the minister's university changes. The network have said it rejects as regressive the application of the 10-year Australian government bond rate to the repayment of outstanding student debt and that it should be scrapped. Isn't this just another example of the government getting its basic facts wrong, and will the minister now scrap his plan to Americanise our universities?

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

On 28 August the Australian Technology Network said:

Deregulation is a threshold issue for the sector and its passage through the Senate is crucial to protect the international reputation for quality higher education, representing around $15 Billion in export earnings for Australia.

So the shadow minister can selectively quote if she chooses to. She can selectively quoted as much she likes. The tragedy for the Labor Party is that they are off piste with the university sector. I am sure they assumed that when the government handed down the biggest market economic reform in Australia's history to universities that the university sector would splinter and not support them.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Mr Bowen interjecting—

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

The member for Jagajaga will desist, as will the member for McMahon.

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

I am sure the Labor Party is very disappointed that the universities are remaining united behind reform. I will quote also from Belinda Robinson, the head of Universities Australia, who wrote only this week—

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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

The member for Moreton is warned.

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

The member for Moreton needs to understand that all his shouting does not get on the television, if he thinks everybody is listening. It does not actually make it. My comments get on the telly; yours do not. You cannot be heard, so you are just wasting a lot of time and energy. Belinda Robinson, the head of Universities Australia, said on 23 September:

Why is it that a consensus of Australian universities are calling on Senate crossbenchers to support and amend the Government's higher education reform agenda?

The short answer is because the existing funding model is not sustainable and a new approach is needed.

She went on to say:

If the Government's package is opposed outright, the quality of the things that our great universities do so well—teaching and research—could be jeopardised. It is simply not possible to maintain the standards that students expect or the international reputation that Australia's university system enjoys without full fee deregulation.

Sadly for the Labor Party, the university sector wants reform. Do they want amendments? Sure, they do. Do the crossbenchers want amendments? I am talking to them about that subject as we speak, and what I have said all along is the government is entirely open to suggestions from the Senate, from the crossbenchers, even from the Labor Party or the Greens. The sad thing for Labor is that you have dealt yourself out of the conversation. You are irrelevant. You are policy light. You are utterly irrelevant to the debate, and when a reform passes the Senate either now or in the near future, Labor will be proved, yet again, to be standing on the sidelines just whistling Dixie.