Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week, thousands of students are attending O-week events as they prepare for their university studies next week. These students are commencing when there is a huge, dark cloud hanging over JCU and CQU, the universities in my electorate, as a result of the completely unnecessary cuts being made by the Turnbull government.

The Turnbull government are attacking regional universities and students unfairly with their $2.2 billion cut. In Townsville, this means that $36 million will be cut from James Cook University and $38 million from Central Queensland University. I have received letters from both vice-chancellors, who are incredibly concerned about these cuts. The fact is that these cuts mean job cuts. These cuts will mean fewer courses, fewer lecturers and fewer students having access to higher education in regional Queensland. Regional Australia needs more degree-qualified people and more highly skilled professionals, not cuts.

A number of Turnbull government ministers had the luxury of a free university education. Instead of passing on the benefits they received, they're passing on severe cuts. Instead of cutting university funding, how about this government dumps their big business tax? That would be $65 billion saved. They could dump their tax for people on more than $180K a year, and $19 billion would be saved. A crackdown on negative gearing and capital gains tax concession would mean $37 billion saved. That's well more than $100 billion saved.

These cuts will be crippling for regional Queensland and Herbert. We want equality of opportunity— (Time expired)