Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand tonight to speak in support of the Higher Education Legislation Amendment (2006 Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2006. It would be entirely inappropriate for me to stand here without answering comprehensively the various attacks and outrageous claims that have been made by Senator Bartlett and opposition senators in this place with respect to the government’s policies on higher education, and I would like to deal with those at first instance.

I would like to speak to the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Legislation Committee report on the bill, which has recently been tabled, so it is a public document, and note as a member of that committee that we received just three submissions to that inquiry. The majority entirely support the bill and have urged its passage without amendment. I thank the secretariat for the work that they have done in collating that report. I would also like to provide some general comments about the importance of higher education and the merits for Australia today with respect to some of the health aspects of our government’s policies, including under the bill before us, and make some general comments on some more notable and relevant issues such as the importance of the curriculum, the preparation of an appropriate curriculum for Australian students and the importance of the history debate in Australia.

Turning first to answer some of the allegations that have been made by the opposition senators, Senator Nettle has indicated that it is a bleak picture that is being faced by Australia today. Senator Bartlett has made allegations which are entirely erroneous with respect to the participation of both Indigenous students and people with disabilities at university. I would like to correct the record and also make some general comments.

I also wanted to note that the majority committee report says that the legislation increases funding to universities and delivers an extra $6.23 billion, ‘making the total appropriation in excess of $25 billion over the quadrennium to 2010’. As I say, the committee report is a public document and is available for all to see.

Let us have a look at some of the facts with respect to our policies. Over the past decade the total number of students studying in Australian universities has grown significantly from 656,121 students in 1994 to just under one million—or 944,977—students in 2004, an increase of 288,000-odd students or 44 per cent. The number of Australian students at university has risen from 604,177 in 1995 to 716,422 students in 2004, an increase of 112,000-odd students or 19 per cent.

Let me correct the record with respect to Indigenous student participation at university. Indigenous student participation at university has increased over the past decade from 7,000 in 1995 to 8,879 students in 2004, which is a very significant increase of 1,879 students. Students from a low socioeconomic status background are going to university in greater numbers than ever before—the number has gone from 83,399 in 1995 to 101,312 a decade later, which is an increase of nearly 18,000 students. Access by rural students, and I come from a rural and regional part of Tasmania, to a university education is also improving, with rural students increasing in number from 102,000-odd in 1995 to 119,812 in 2004.

What about students with a disability, which Senator Bartlett also referred to? Students with a disability are going to university in increasing numbers, with an increase from 11,656 students in 1996 to 26,363 students in 2004. One can see that the allegations made against the government in those respects have been proved false. In fact, as a government we are providing more flexibility; we are removing red tape so that the universities have the ability to take on more students and to do the job that is required to be done.

Let us have a look at the figures in relation to increased funding for universities. Coalition government funding for the higher education sector has increased significantly over the past decade, from $5.3 billion in 1995-96 to $7.8 billion in 2005-06. Universities have access to higher levels of revenue than ever before. It is estimated the total revenue available to higher education institutions from all sources was $13 billion in 2004, almost $5.1 billion more than in 1996. That is a 65 per cent increase. What is so wrong about the private sector providing some of these funds? What is so wrong about students providing some of those funds? Why should the government be the sole provider? Those opposite are harking back to the past.

Revenue from overseas student fees was $1.9 billion in 2004, an average increase of about 15.5 per cent each year since 1996 and accounting for around 14.7 per cent of sector revenue—a very important part of the revenue for that sector. Following the major reforms to the higher education sector in 2003—I will touch on those in a minute; very hearty congratulations are due to the former minister, the Hon. Brendan Nelson, for his work to make those reforms happen—it is estimated that universities will receive additional student contributions of around $1 billion over the four years of 2005-08.

I would specifically like to acknowledge the Hon. Brendan Nelson for his early work, with the Prime Minister, in getting the Backing Australia’s Ability report through. He had a long-term plan to help secure sustainable funding and ensure that Australia meets the needs of students. The government spent nearly a year reviewing Australia’s higher education system and in 2003 developed a comprehensive reform package. That was entitled Our universities: backing Australia’s future. That reform package for the university sector will deliver an additional—I emphasise ‘additional’—$11 billion to the sector over 10 years. That is no pie in the sky amount of money. That is no insignificant amount of money. That is a very substantial increase.

I want to acknowledge my Tasmanian Senate colleagues, particularly the Hon. Paul Calvert, Eric Abetz, Richard Colbeck, John Watson and Stephen Parry, and Tasmanian Liberal members of the House of Representatives Michael Ferguson and Mark Baker, for the hard work that was done to ensure that we got a good result for Tasmania. We have received a regional loading of $13.8 million and the total funding for the university is now some $167.8 million. That has been a good result for the university. We can see—and we have seen—expansions not only in the south but in and around Launceston, thanks to the lobbying efforts of Michael Ferguson, the federal member for Bass. There was quite a significant expansion of the Invermay and Mowbray campus.