Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ruston very much for her question and her interest in this area. As senators would be aware, the previous Labor government announced a very mean-spirited cap of $2,000 on tax deductions for self-education expenses as a part of their $2.8 billion cuts to higher-education funding. That would have had a disastrous flow-on effect for individuals, and would have also greatly reduced the uptake of professional development courses at our universities and at our TAFE colleges across the nation.

I am very pleased to advise—understandably, given the sensible approach being taken by Treasurer Hockey and Education Minister Pyne—that common sense has ultimately prevailed, and on 6 November this year the Treasurer announced that the coalition government would not be proceeding with Labor's mean-spirited cap on self-education expenses. This government, in particular, is concerned with improving productivity, not with introducing measures which are simply going to destroy it, and that is why we have reversed their decision.

This is good news for universities, it is good news for TAFEs and it is particularly good news for the thousands of people who are considering upgrading their skills and qualifications. We have all spoken to them—whether they are in the professions, whether they are in the trades—and no matter what area of work they were pursuing, they were very concerned about a cap of that level, given the cost of the sorts of courses that are required to be taken.

This is even better news for Australians, who will benefit overall from having a much better skilled population. In fact, it is a win-win all around. As the Minister for Education said, Australians should have access to the often necessary training they require to maintain their professional accreditation and skills, as well as upgrading their qualifications.