Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Attorney-General (Senator Brandis) to a question without notice asked by Senator Dodson today relating to higher education policy.

Today we saw a new gyration from the government around their policies on higher education. No matter what gyrations we see, and no doubt we will hear a great deal more on this in the forthcoming period, no matter what high trapeze act we see being performed, no matter what fiddling we see, the fundamentals remain the same. Senator Dodson's question was direct: what is the government's policy? What is the government's policy in relation to deregulation of university fees and cuts to universities? Of course, the answer has to be based on what the government said today and what we know is on the public record in regard to the underlying position that we see within the government's budgetary statements.

The government's goal remains: deregulation of university fees and a $20 billion cut to public universities over the next 10 years—a goal that will see the $100,000 degree and the prospect of lifetime debt embedded into the higher education system of this country. We know that the unlegislated measures outlined by this government cut $20 billion from the university system and that the bulk of that will go into the private sector. We know that this is the real face of deregulation.

This is a government that walks away from its responsibilities to properly fund education in this country. This is a government that oversees the transfer of billions and billions of dollars from taxpayers to private operators—$17.8 billion under this government's measures, embedded within the budget arrangements under the unlegislated measures, will be transferred from the various operations and predominantly directed to private colleges. All of that is underwritten by a blowout in the public loan scheme—a measure which we saw in 2015, in the last MYEFO and in the estimates processes.

All of this now has been reinforced by the inspired leaks of recent weeks that of course confirm the government's agenda of a commitment to the $100,000 degree, to the deregulation of fees, and now proposals to introduce a new superprofits tax for universities. Under the scheme the government is proposing, which was identified first under Minister Pyne, there will be attempts made to impose further levies on universities, particularly the Group of Eight universities, should they charge more than the government expects. We know that to be the case because of the statements that have been made by this minister and the various inspired leaks we have seen, particularly to TheAustralian Financial Review.

We know the history of this policy. This has been road-tested in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom this very policy was pursued and of course ultimately rejected by a conservative government because of the impact that it had on increasing university fees to students. Of course we all know that the fundamentals are not about to change under this government. We know what a dog of a policy this is. It was a dog of a policy when it was first announced under Christopher Pyne. It was a dog of a policy through its various versions and it remains a dog of a policy today.

This is a government that has relentlessly pursued its plan to cut $20 billion from public universities. This is a government that has sought to strip money from our world-class university system, transfer that money to the private sector and blow-out the cost of the loan scheme. Of course we have now seen a model that will be pursued through the vocational education system. This government has allowed the waste and extravagance to go beyond all possible imagination.

What we have is a government that believes it is simple: 'If you have got the money, if you have got the power and if you have got the privilege you could embed that.' We should not have an education system that actually opens the doors of economic opportunity. The fundamental principle that has been the hallmark of the Australian education system is: if you have ability and work hard you should have the opportunity to succeed. Under this government's policies we know that there will be a major shake-up in the education system if it ever gets the chance to implement them. It will see the price of going to university skyrocket, a massive blow-out in public debt and an undermining of the fundamental principle of equality in our education system. (Time expired)