Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Isn't it absolutely amazing that people have to listen to Senator Bilyk's nonsense in silence, but we cannot speak without interjection from Senator Bilyk? I will tell you the one person who does need a university education: the shadow minister, Senator Carr. He goes on, as Senator O'Neill did, about $100,000 degrees. I have my shoes and socks on, so I do not need to multiply three years of education at UWA—one of the finest universities in the world—by $16,000. When I was a student, three times 16 actually equalled $48,000—not $100,000. And with a four-year agriculture degree—I do not know whether Senator Bilyk has her calculator out yet—four times 16 is $64,000, not $100,000. Anybody who knows anything about competition knows that happens if there are 20 universities around the place offering a teaching degree with one wanting to charge $100,000 and the others wanting to charge $48,000. Do you know what the market does? The market moves away from the $100,000 degree and goes for the $48,000 degrees. So let us—

Senator Conroy interjecting—

Senator Conroy does, in fact, have an economics degree. I understand that, when he told one of his co-students on one occasion how well he was going to do and how she was going to fail, in fact, she vastly surpassed Senator Conroy in that particular course. But we will not talk about his degree in economics today. What we will do is talk about the opportunities for low-socioeconomic students that will be denied by Labor if they oppose this legislation.

History tells us what will happen. Senator Bilyk raised the UK. When the fee adjustments were made in the UK, the number of low-socioeconomic students attending universities in the UK went up dramatically. The university sector has said that the changes introduced by the coalition will dramatically increase the number of scholarships it can offer to students of low-socioeconomic backgrounds. From my own time as a university lecturer in a regional university in Western Australia, I know very well the opportunities that this legislation brings to regional universities. It will tremendously enhance the opportunity for regional universities in this country.

That is why it is so disappointing that Senator Carr would effectively call nearly every vice-chancellor in this country a liar. He says that there will inevitably be $100,000 degrees, but there will not be. And—heaven forbid!—in the committee inquiries we have had, the non-government based university and higher education sector said that the cost of their programs and degrees will go down. Why? It is because all of a sudden they will have some Commonwealth supported places. The cost of degrees will go down. It does not suit Senator Carr. He does not want to see that sector. He does want to see the sector that produces about 15 per cent of our tertiary qualifications.

This particular group over here will deny the 80,000 students who will have the opportunity to do pre-bachelor courses. Again, I know from my own experience of 15 years as a university lecturer that young people who will not be able to go to uni first off will come into the sector and do a sub-bachelor course. They will find that they enjoy it. They will graduate and they will move into the university sector. Be very careful of what the Labor Party is doing. It is destroying the future opportunities for higher education in this country. (Time expired)