Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education. Why is the Albanese Labor government pursuing important reforms to cap international student numbers and crack down on shonky providers. What is standing in the way and why?

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the sensational member for Hawke for his question. Almost every day in this place, my old mate the member for Herbert asks me to tell a story. Boy oh boy, do we have a story to tell today. Today's Sydney Morning Herald reads: 'Senior Liberal headlines event for student visa agents before tanking migration bill'. The story reads as follows:

Coalition frontbencher Sarah Henderson headlined an event for migration agents and private colleges and launched a new brand for a Liberal Party member who helps international students extend stays in Australia just a month before tanking Labor's bill to crack down on the private education sector.

It goes on:

Henderson, who leads the opposition's education policy—

and now, it seems, the migration policy as well—

spoke at the private forum attended by dozens of colleges and agents – some of whom have had restrictions imposed on them by the tertiary education regulator or helped international students appeal their visa rejections …

It goes on:

Some of the companies are also Liberal Party donors.

The plot thickens!

I said, on Tuesday, it was hard to believe that this opposition leader would get into bed with the Greens on migration. Now, it seems that bed's getting pretty full—full of education agents. But there are some people that are getting out of the bed, because the story goes on:

Several shadow ministers and backbenchers said there was frustration in the party room about how the Coalition reached the position, with some left confused about how to articulate it publicly.

I'd be confused too. Let's remember what this bill does. This bill responds to the shocking findings from the Nixon review and the Parkinson review about the exploitation of Australia's visa system by dodgy education agents and providers.

I remind the House about the bill in the Senate that the Liberal Party and the Greens are in the bed together at the moment trying to stop. It prevents education providers from owning education agent businesses, it requires providers to educate Aussie students first for two years before they're allowed to recruit international students and it prevents providers who are under serious regulatory investigation from recruiting new international students. That's what the Liberal Party is planning to vote against, and, now, perhaps we know why.