Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

Let me attempt to bring not only a little calm to the debate compared to the contribution we just heard but also attempt to bring a little sanity and truthfulness to the debate compared with the contribution we have just heard. Ever since the budget last year when Minister Pyne revealed the government's plan to put the higher education system of Australia, our universities, on a sustainable footing with a sustainable funding model that would support them well into the future, all we have heard from the Labor Party is a constant barrage of lies, a constant barrage of scare tactics and a constant stream of fear mongering, and we heard more of that today from Senator Carr. It is necessary to repeat again and again in this debate that first and foremost—