Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Colleagues, I'm pleased to stand in the House today to introduce this Higher Education Support Amendment (National Regional Higher Education Strategy) Bill 2018, which focuses on regional higher education. I'd like to recognise in the gallery Dr Caroline Perkins, the executive director from the Regional Universities Network, RUN, who's in the chamber. RUN includes a network of universities: CQ University, Federation University Australia, Southern Cross University, University of New England, University of Southern Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast. They've worked with our office to strengthen and promote the contribution of regional universities to national development. I'd also like to acknowledge colleagues in the House from the Alpine Valleys Community Leadership program, and stress to you that it's all about leadership.

The delivery of higher education in regional Australia is central to the economic prosperity of this nation, and this bill provides a way forward to ensure that regional Australia has a comprehensive higher education strategy underpinning policy decisions of government. The bill mandates that the government maintains a strategic plan and analysis of regional higher education, and recognises the role of regional universities in sustaining economic growth and supporting employment in regional Australia.

Support for the delivery of higher education in regional areas is often seen only as an issue of equity, focused on improved access, participation and completion rates. And, while equity is important, regional education is also an essential driver of the national economy. I call on a national regional higher education strategy to actually put regional higher education at the centre of integrated policy and programs about education, research, innovation, employment, and, of course, regional development.

Mr Speaker, as you know, regional universities play a unique role in developing our regional economies, contributing to social and cultural development. They act as an anchor for investment and, importantly, workforce development. One of the biggest threats to sustainability of rural communities is the great export of our young people to cities. Three-quarters of students who study at regional universities actually stay in regional areas after they graduate. So regional universities educate the future workforce and help to grow and stabilise the population of regional Australia in regional Australia. This strategy must be developed in partnership with all levels of government and with regional higher education providers, their representative bodies and their industries. So before I conclude my comments I'd like to invite the member for Mayo to value-add to this in her role as seconder of the private member's bill.

But I say to my colleagues opposite—I say to the National Party and to members of the Liberal Party from regional Australia—where are you on this? Why are you letting one size fit all? The consequence is that regional Australia gets left behind, we fall into a deficit model and we are not able to take our place—our rightful place—in developing this whole country. One size does not fit all: the tyranny of distance and the issues facing regional Australia need to be taken and addressed in their own right.

I absolutely call on the National Party and I call on the regional members from the Liberal Party: get up here! Can I say to my colleagues: 'See their interest. Where are they? Why are they not here today to be part of this debate?' I say they're not here because they don't care. This is a stunning call-out to all the people in rural and regional Australia who vote for the coalition, hoping that they would bring their voice to parliament. They singularly, repeatedly fail us.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder?

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to second the Higher Education Support Amendment (National Regional Higher Education Strategy) Bill 2018 and to support the motion of the member for Indi, and to congratulate the member for Indi for the work she has done to further the cause for regional universities. I support this bill because I understand how important it is for the future of our regions and the future of our country that we have a strong, growing regional educational sector.

Regional universities are vital to the success and prosperity of Australia's regional centres. The economic benefit that universities provide to a regional town is immense. For example, the University of New England is responsible for 12.6 per cent of the total employment in the New South Wales town of Armidale. Similar stories are replicated across Australia in towns like Burnie, Launceston and Albury-Wodonga. Just last Friday I was invited to Geelong to speak at a coastal conference. When I met with local government there, they said it was Deakin University that was the anchor point in changing the prosperity of the community of Geelong. I am working very hard to make sure that we can have campuses in Mayo. We need university campuses, like we have in my home state in Whyalla and Mount Gambier. The benefits of having a university campus in a regional area are, indeed, immense. Universities provide employment opportunities for locals and they collaborate with local businesses on research that will directly impact the area, but, most importantly, they provide a genuine opportunity for rural and regional students to obtain higher education without needing to leave their communities—their home towns.

Universities Australia has equated the shortfall in funding as the equivalent of 10,000 university places. While this is a major concern across the nation, the impact of the MYEFO cuts is disproportionately felt by regional universities. These universities, by virtue of their location, will struggle to attract full-fee-paying international students to meet the funding shortfall. They often struggle to attract the same level of research investment as the traditional universities in the capital cities. They simply do not have the ability of the larger metropolitan based universities to draw on alternative funding sources.

The statistics are damning. For people aged between 25 and 34 in major cities, 42.4 per cent have obtained a bachelor degree. Compare this to those in regional areas and the number falls dramatically to just over 20 per cent. It is still lower in remote areas, where the rate is less than one in five. I'm on the record as saying that university is not for everyone and that many people would perhaps be better served by undergoing VET courses or apprenticeships, but to have such a divide between regional and metropolitan education levels in our country is staggering and something that I believe the government must address. As the member for Indi says, this is something that the National Party should be picking up with both hands.

Finally, it is worth recognising that the government has a clear decentralisation agenda. I recognise the excellent work that the member for Indi has done in her role on the Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation—not just being part of the committee but making sure that committee happened. There is significant evidence that shows the only way for decentralisation to truly work is for the region to contain a skilled supply of labour supported by a university. Not having a regional higher education strategy puts the government's decentralisation agenda, I believe, at risk, and it puts the future of Australia's regional areas at risk. The member for Indi's bill identifies the need to increase the representation of regional students in higher education. It identifies that the future of the regions lies in encouraging students to stay and study in their local area and receive a good-quality education, and it identifies that the federal government is not supporting our regions by providing them with the tools necessary to succeed. We need to do this. We need to keep our young people in the communities that they want to live in, and not all of us, indeed, want to live in a capital city.

Once again, I congratulate the member for Indi and encourage all members of this House, particularly those from regional areas, and, again, I call on the National Party: show some leadership in this area. You represent the seats where these universities are needed and the regions that, where universities already exist, are struggling. (Time expired)

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.