Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I apologise for being a little late. The Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 [2011] is an important bill because the issue of international education is an important one. Many private education providers, as well as many universities, rely on overseas students for a large proportion of their enrolments and their income. Madam Acting Deputy President, you would know from your hometown of Melbourne that it is a very, very large industry, particularly in the City of Melbourne.

This is not a boutique issue. Every year several hundred thousand students from overseas attend our higher education institutions, VET providers, schools and English courses. We are one of the largest providers of education services for overseas students in the world. In 2008-09, education contributed just over $17 billion to the export earnings of Australia. Education is currently our fourth largest export earner after coal, iron ore and now gold. So it means an enormous amount to our country. Education continues to be our largest services export industry, well ahead of personal travel and well ahead of consulting services. About 120,000 jobs are dependent on overseas students, including about 30,000 directly in teaching. So we are talking about a very, very large industry.

Knowledge is much less tangible than coal or iron ore, which is why perhaps the significant economic contribution of the sector to Australia’s prosperity is so rarely acknowledged. It is not nearly as tangible as coal, iron ore or indeed gold. But the importance of international education goes well beyond dollars and cents. Many of those who come to Australia to study decide to stay on and contribute to our society as productive citizens. The contribution these students make to Australia is not just economic; it is also cultural and social. Those who go back home take with them not just their newly acquired knowledge, expertise and qualifications, but also hopefully a knowledge and love of our country. Valuable networks are built and friendships created that cross the boundaries and enrich the social and professional lives of the hosts and also our guests. I have no doubt at all—and experience tells us this—that many major international businesses and business deals over the next few decades will have their genesis in contacts made right here in Australia by overseas students.

Our international education industry is an extremely valuable asset for our nation as a whole. I think all senators would acknowledge that in the area of education we have been punching well above our weight for a long time. We are one of the leading destinations for overseas students. But there is no question that over the last year or two the service has been hit by what some have termed a perfect storm and that is constituted by softening demand due to the global financial crisis. There has been softening demand for Australia’s education services.

There have been quality domestic education providers in our traditional overseas markets. For example, there is no question that in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia the domestic capacity is increasing. In many of the new universities being created, particularly in China, English is being spoken and is the language of instruction. Increasingly, there is much more competition.

There is also much stiffer competition from countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Mr Acting Deputy President, you would be aware that the Cameron government in the United Kingdom has cut higher education and so the UK is seeking international students from all around the world to buttress their industry. The United States is also seeking students much more vigorously than it ever has in the past. A strong Australian dollar does not help either. In fact, our dollar, which is now at parity with the United States, makes us in a sense a less attractive proposition to overseas students.

Last but not least—and this gets us back to not just Melbourne, though Melbourne is the focus of much of this—there has been a string of private provider collapses and incidents of violence directed at overseas students, which shook confidence in Australia as a safe and welcoming provider of quality education. There is no question at all that those shocks—and they may have been overplayed in some countries and I suspect that they were—have had an impact on Australia as a destination for overseas students. I think we would all accept that.

We need to repair this damage and we need to work hard to maintain and strengthen our position vis-a-vis our competitors. They are the countries that are increasing their capacity in this area and they are our traditional competitors, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. We need to arrive at the right balance between the demands of our education system and our migration system. The interface between Commonwealth migration law and state laws regulating education providers is where the rubber hits the road in this area. That interface has been, for quite some time now, obstructed and difficult. I know that the government, in a different context, in the textile legislation, which I understand will be coming shortly before the Senate, will be partly addressing that interface. So there are more debates on higher education to come and I am sure we can all hardly wait for that.

We need to find the right balance between accountability and flexibility. We do support the Education Services for Overseas Students Legislation Amendment Bill 2010, which goes some way towards achieving those goals of flexibility. The changes in this bill arise out of the Stronger, simpler, smarter ESOS: supporting international students report, ably conducted by the Hon. Bruce Baird, who many will remember from his time here in federal parliament and also as Deputy Premier of New South Wales. This is becoming a trend, with the government getting Mr Baird to conduct a report and, of course, now Mr Fahey in Queensland. But it is a good trend, I think.

This legislation partly implements the recommendations of Mr Baird’s report and builds on the original ESOS Act from 2000, as well as the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Re-registration of Providers and Other Measures) Act 2010 passed last year. The main provisions of this amendment bill strengthen the registration criteria for providers of education services to overseas students—that is very important; introduce a new strategy for managing risk in the private education industry—again that is vital; give the Commonwealth power to impose financial penalties for a range of activities, including unethical recruitment practices; and expand the role of the Commonwealth Ombudsman to cover complaints from international students that relate to private providers.

As I have mentioned, the coalition broadly supports these efforts and certainly will not be opposing the bill. All those amendments—and I applaud the government for doing this—arising from Mr Baird’s report and their own, I think, sincere attempts to attack this problem, were problems. We have to recognise that if we do not do something—and this legislation does go part of the way—our education industry, our fourth largest export industry, will suffer. So the government is right to do this and take fairly vigorous action, and that is a good thing. However, the opposition will maintain a close scrutiny of the government, as we have learned in the past that despite the government’s best intentions—and, indeed, often it has very noble intentions, intentions that I agree with—the implementation sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. So the coalition will be watching the implementation of this legislation.

This industry is far too important for the government to get away with just talking the talk and not walking the walk. This has to make a difference. It has to be implemented correctly. Indeed, the feedback that I am getting from so many the stakeholders is that they are still worried that the government does not quite have a grasp of the industry and the issues and is struggling to come up with a practical workable response that goes towards fixing the problem and addressing the industry’s valid concerns. They are still concerned, but I think all stakeholders agree that this is a very good start.

The coalition will keenly participate and contribute and keep the government to account to ensure that the interests of students, providers, the government and our country as a whole is equity balanced and aligned with one of our most important industries and that it thrives into the future. The coalition supports this, and I commend the bill to the Senate.