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

I thank Senator McGrath very much for the question. As senators will know, the government has, in fact, taken on board a number of important changes proposed by Senate members of the crossbench to the proposed higher education reforms. We have included those in a new reform bill which was introduced to the House of Representatives yesterday.

The new reform bill accepts, firstly, a proposal made by Senator Day in relation to keeping the indexation of HECS at CPI, and also Senator Madigan's proposal, which I understand Senator Wang has also carefully considered, for a HECS indexation pause for the primary care-giver of newborns. The government will also fund more scholarships for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, on top of the Commonwealth scholarships. Senator Muir has particularly advocated for that. There are other improvements, as well.

We all now have some months to discuss the reforms and to negotiate further improvements. As Professor Sandra Harding from James Cook University in North Queensland said yesterday: 'Appropriately amended, these reforms can deliver a high-quality and sustainable higher education and research system.' Professor Harding, who is also the chair of Universities Australia, has stressed both the need and the urgency of the reforms, saying that the status quo is not an option.

The vice-chancellor of Central Queensland University, Professor Scott Bowman, said yesterday:

If regional Australia had any hope of ever catching up with city Australia in university participation—without sending the country broke—then it would be through an uncapped student system in a deregulated market.

That is what these reforms deliver. Even the Regional Universities Network release yesterday was headed, 'The RUN urges the Senate to pass the new higher education bill, with changes.'