George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Carr. Where does this leave Bond University and the University of Notre Dame? This budget provides a massive $6.9 billion for the higher education sector, including an initial investment of $5 billion in the new Higher Education Endowment Fund. This means that funding for higher education increased by 31 per cent in real terms between 1995-96 and 2007-08, not including income support for students. At the same time, universities are reporting large increases in their operating surpluses and asset bases.

The taxpayer is funding record numbers of Commonwealth supported places. This bill provides a further half a billion dollars for many courses, including maths and statistics, allied health, engineering, science, clinical psychology, teaching, nursing, medicine, dentistry and veterinary science. In response to calls from the sector, this bill also reduces the number of clusters from 12 to seven. Reflecting the higher salaries that business graduates can expect to receive over a lifetime, the maximum student contribution for accounting, administration, economics and commerce units, and the Commonwealth Grant Scheme subsidy, will be aligned with law. It will be a decision for each institution as to whether it raises the student contribution for these disciplines. The change will only affect students who commence studying at higher education providers from next year.

This bill also establishes the new diversity and structural adjustment fund, which will assist universities, particularly those in regional areas, and smaller metropolitan universities to play to their strengths to ensure a diverse and sustainable sector with a focus on quality, access, efficiency and good governance. This bill also introduces three-year Commonwealth Grant Scheme funding agreements from 2009 to replace the annual agreements. Institutions that finalise a three-year agreement during 2007 will be able to take advantage of this arrangement from 2008. Through this bill the Australian government is increasing the number of Commonwealth scholarships from around 8,500 to 12,000 per year. This is over and above the additional annual scholarships for 1,000 Indigenous higher education students to undertake an undergraduate or enabling course. The current administrative arrangements will also be changed to ensure that scholarships are offered at the same time as students are offered a place and will be paid directly by the Australian government. This will help students make better informed decisions about which offer to accept.

This bill promotes a more diverse, responsive and dynamic higher education sector that delivers benefits for universities, for their students and in turn the wider Australian community. I say to the Australian people, if you cannot manage the economy you cannot invest in the future. The dividend of strong economic management by this government is that we can provide Australians with a good education and a job. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question negatived.