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

Even if they deserve a kick? But that is not my point. These topics have been traversed by me and by Mr Pyne and others over the last few years. I raise these concerns for this reason: I am worried that this government's performance in implementing its schools agenda will affect the grand project of reforming Australia's higher education system—and it is a grand project and a worthwhile one.

The Bradley review has set an ambitious goal of increasing participation in tertiary education to 40 per cent of our young people, a goal which the government has adopted and targeted to achieve by the year 2025. The opposition joins the government in this aspirational target. Indeed, from the start of next year we will see the first substantial steps towards achieving this goal with a move to a system driven by student demand. It is perfectly obvious to everyone in the sector, as well as to any observer, that a significant influx of additional student numbers—it will be tens of thousands and, over the next two decades or so, hundreds of thousands—will necessitate a large expan­sion of our universities' physical and teaching infrastructure. This in turn will require additional government outlays of tens of billions of dollars between now and 2025.

Exactly how much will it require? That is a very, very good question. Sadly, I believe it is not one that the government has answered. It has not really even asked it in the first place. We learnt in the budget estimates a few weeks ago that there is little planning or forecasting and no projections. No cost-benefit analysis at all has been done or even commissioned to be done by the government in relation to the implementation of the Bradley reforms. We as a nation have embarked on one of the largest and most significant reforms of our higher education system in history. Yet we are moving forward largely blind, unaware both of the cost that taxpayers will have to incur over the next decade and a half to make the reforms happen as well as the benefits that we would expect to accrue to our economy and society as a result of having a more educated Australian population. Once again, the government is being completely blinded by the metric of 40 per cent of 20- to 34-year-olds having a bachelor's degree or more by 2025, ignoring all the careful planning that has to be done as a foundation of successful implementation.

Let me just say this: the coalition will not support a blind and uninformed rush towards arbitrary targets if it would in any way damage our higher education system and affect its performance and international reputation. We cannot allow a situation to develop where quantity is achieved at the expense of quality. The high standards of our universities cannot be compromised simply because the government wants to meet a metric without providing adequate resources. It will actually be a step backwards if we produce more degrees and they are worth less simply because our universities are not able to maintain quality within the constraints of government targets and government financing.

This point was clearly underlined in an April report from the New York based Institute of International Education which looked at the reasons behind the decline in overseas student enrolments here in Australia. It was discussed in the 'Higher Education Supplement'of the Australian just yesterday. There is international concern that standards in Australian universities are not as high as our competitors. I know Senator Evans and others in the government would be concerned with that. The coalition is concerned about the implementation of the Bradley reforms by the government. We will be watching carefully how the reform unfolds. We put the government on notice that aspirations, however high and noble, count for little if they are not implemented in a well thought out and properly financed manner.

In conclusion, the coalition is happy to support this bill in its current form, as amended, and commends the government for adopting all the recommendations of the Senate legislation committee. It has been a good decision by the government and is again illustrative of the fact that the government and Senator Evans have gone a long way towards improving this legislation and listening to the higher education sector in the consultation process and the com­mittee process. I again thank Senator Evans and, indeed, the department for that consultation process, which I did describe as 'model'. If only that were the case in relation to all legislation, that would be a great thing, but perhaps it is too much to ask for. I commend the bill to the Senate and indicate that the opposition will support the amendments that have been circulated by the government.