Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for that question. The fact of the matter is that real funding per student has increased under the Labor government and will continue to increase after the efficiency dividend has been taken into account. In 2007, real funding per student was $16,147. In 2012, it was $17,659. With the efficiency dividend taken into account, real funding—this is after you have taken out inflation—per student is projected to exceed $18,000 in 2017. This will be a real funding increase in excess of 10 per cent. The suggestion that you should only look at one funding source is fanciful and is out of touch with reality. (Time expired)