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

This is a very important question from Senator McKenzie, given the irresponsible nature of some of the scaremongering that has been going on in the public debate.

We have already seen the behaviour of universities. We have seen them set fees already. They set them for postgraduate coursework degrees and they set them for international students. And in that, in so many cases, they act responsibly and reasonably in that process. Competition is what will force universities to set fees reasonably. If they charge too much they are going to have empty lecture theatres because students will not enrol with them. In fact, Vicki Thomson, the executive director of the Australian Technology Network, has said recently in the Australian, and I quote:

… there is nothing to fear from deregulated fees for undergraduate degrees.

Ms Thomson wrote:

… the university sector is not looking to introduce standard $100,000 degrees and deregulation won’t deliver them.

Those who have brainwashed some journalists and independent senators to accept that we plan to do just that deserve to be shot down.

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