Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this matter as well. When I first saw this, this morning, I thought, 'Maybe One Nation are going to express some concern for foreign workers that have been exploited.' We've seen various examples of that over recent years. But, no, I think what we've got with One Nation is just another dog whistle. We know that Senator Hanson has attacked foreign students in this country as early as in February this year, where she said: 'I was told—and I was just gobsmacked at this—that we had 400,000 foreign students in Australia, going to our universities. No wonder our kids can't find jobs. I think it needs to be addressed.' So what we see today is just a continuing attack on foreign students in this country and the importance of them to the economy of Australia and particularly regional economies.

If you'd spent any time in regional Queensland, you would understand the importance of foreign students to those universities and the fact that they add diversity to them, let alone the role that that plays in the broader Asia-Pacific and within the world. There are some Queensland issues that I want to come back to that I think just show you how out of touch Senator Hanson and her team are with what is happening in Queensland and indeed throughout Australia.

I know many other senators here have raised the importance of this to the national economy, but it's broader than that. You only have to spend any time in Brisbane to understand the economic boom that Brisbane has gone through as a result of foreign students wanting to come and study at our universities. We have seen high-rise buildings get built and we have seen students come and use that accommodation. We have seen that the resulting economic benefit has been substantial. This has been replicated throughout Queensland and throughout Australia. It shows the ignorance that we have seen from One Nation. They fail to understand the economic importance of this to our country. They say it's a bad thing that we have 400,000 international students studying right here in Australia. I see that as an opportunity. They get an education. Australia has so many universities ranked in the top 100, and our regional universities are doing particularly well. We're an attractive destination, and this is a great thing.

When they come, they also obviously want to work. They need some employment to keep it going. Quite often they are doing the jobs that some other people don't want to do, but we can't let them be exploited when they are doing that. There have been examples of that throughout regional Queensland, and I am sure there are examples throughout Australia as well. But One Nation don't want to put a focus on that. Every time they've had an opportunity to vote for antiworker or anti-union legislation, they've put their hand up as quick as a flash. If they actually wanted to protect international workers and vulnerable workers, they would vote to strengthen labour laws, not diminish them, and they would actually vote to strengthen the role of unions in the workplace who can protect these people. But we see from One Nation a consistent theme: the opposite. It just shows how dysfunctional they are. They come in here and pursue what is basically a dog whistle to parts of Australia to say, 'We don't want more foreigners coming in.'

The economic devastation that would follow from this would be unprecedented. As we know, there are 400,000 international students studying right here in Australia. We know that they are spread throughout Australia and that they include regional universities as well. The international education sector in Australia is valued at $28 billion. Our education system is our nation's third-highest export. This is how important it is. You only have to talk to a vice chancellor or a regional vice chancellor for them to extol how important it is for their university and their ability to offer courses for Australian residents as well. It should be a source of pride and something we should be talking about in a positive light—about the benefits that this brings and the expansion that it has enabled our universities—but One Nation want to put a negative light on it. It is really disappointing that they want to talk down regional universities and Australian universities, all to have a dog whistle for their supporters.

This urgency motion once again shows that One Nation simply don't understand how the economy works and the broader benefits that this brings, as I said, around construction and the spending power that these people bring to regional economies, particularly when we look at the state of Queensland. I look at examples like we have in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast, which are home to universities like James Cook University, Central Queensland University and the University of the Sunshine Coast. If their foreign students numbers were to be cut, it would have a devastating impact on those local economies. James Cook University, in particular, has almost 2,000 international students studying on campuses in Townsville and Cairns. At the University of the Sunshine Coast there are 1,600 foreign students enrolled. It is estimated that the international student enrolments at the University of the Sunshine Coast inject $60 million into the local Sunshine Coast economy. These are significant numbers that have a real benefit for regional communities, particularly when you look at Townsville and Cairns. We understand that from time to time those economies do it tough. Townsville, in particular, has high unemployment at the moment. So the benefits of having those international students would be significant to boosting those local economies.

We also understand that there is an important role that our regional universities—particularly those in Queensland—play with our neighbouring nations such as Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. They rely on regional Queensland universities to educate their next generation of leaders. So this is providing a really vital leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region for students from other countries to come here and study, further their leadership abilities and then take that to their local communities to benefit their people as well.

Due to those links, there's the indirect benefit which our international students provide to our communities. For example, Townsville is now the beneficiary of direct international flights to Port Moresby, partially as a result of the number of Papua New Guineans studying at James Cook University. Due to James Cook University's strong links to Singapore, there is even talk that Townsville could benefit from stronger social and economic ties to Singapore. We potentially see that with the deal that the Singapore Army have done to do further training. That obviously has a direct link to Townsville, as part of that will take place there. I think this just goes to show you that, in the longer term, international education can also improve our links and relations with our regional neighbours, such as Singapore, Papua New Guinea and other important partners to Australia. These links are enhanced by international students coming to study in our region.

On top of the contribution that international education injects into our economy, the education system employs over 900,000 people, and 128,000 of those jobs are supported by the investment that is made by international students. If One Nation really cared about protecting jobs, imagine what such a stunt would do to existing employment levels at universities. If, all of a sudden, foreign students were taken out of the system, what an impact that would have! But, again, we don't see One Nation focusing in on the issues that we have seen around exploitation. We don't see any concern for the way that those workers have been treated. Instead what we see is just a scare campaign and a dog whistle. If they really cared about Australian jobs, they wouldn't be so hell bent on getting rid of an industry that provides a $28 million windfall for the economy. They would be happy to close the doors of the universities to foreign students, and that would have a devastating impact.

So I say to One Nation that they really need to get an understanding of the importance of universities to Australia. Maybe they could spend some time at a regional university in Queensland so that they could learn the important role that foreign students play and the economic benefits that are brought to those regions because of this. You only have to talk to a mayor from any of those regional towns, from Cairns, Townsville or Mackay, for them to talk about the benefits of having international students, the cultural diversity it brings, the importance of the financial contribution it adds to those economies and also the growing trade links that can happen as a result. I've mentioned the benefits in Townsville. I've seen the benefits in Cairns. There are so many students who want to come and study in Cairns because it is such an attractive lifestyle there and because of its vicinity to the Great Barrier Reef as well.

In conclusion, I think what we've seen from the efforts of One Nation in this debate really is nothing more than a dog whistle from them. They will stop at nothing to target xenophobia in Australia, and the damage that it does to the economy and to regional economies is absolutely a second thought that they have no regard for.