Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

When former Prime Minister Paul Keating introduced this in 1989 there was a 15 per cent discount if you paid upfront. I well remember it, because I paid mine upfront. I'd got my money from fruit picking over the summer and then I used that money to pay off the loan upfront. I think it's a very good idea to have a discount in order to encourage students to get their loans paid off, because what we've now got is a $70 billion HECS debt that's being funded by the taxpayer, and the ATO estimates that about $30 billion of that is probably going to have to be written off. I think it's a very good idea that we do encourage our students to pay it off through doing part-time work whilst they study, so they both get rid of the debt and develop a work ethic. It is very easy to get caught up in student life. You can have a lot of fun there, but we should never forget that universities are about a pathway to a better future and getting work in the long run.

The other thing that I'd like to touch on is the misogynistic comments earlier by Senator Faruqi. She said we on this side of the chamber are misogynistic. I think Senator Faruqi should draw inspiration from the women in my family. I happen to be a fourth-generation graduate of the University of Queensland. My great-great-aunt got a degree in 1920: a Bachelor of Arts. She went on to teach at All Hallows, where she taught generations of women maths and physics, so much so that she's now got a hall named after her at the school she taught at.

My grandmother went on to get a Bachelor of Arts in 1930. She also became a teacher. She had four children before the war and four children after the war. One of those children was my uncle Keith, who, unfortunately, at the age of seven became blind. He went on and got a law degree through braille because he persevered. Finally, my other aunt, Auntie Helen, got a Bachelor of Arts from UQ in 1972.

There are a whole range of women in my family, including my wife and my sister, who all went to UQ and got degrees. This idea that somehow we're against women getting degrees I find totally repugnant.

Senator O'Neill interjecting—

On Senator O'Neill's comments that somehow we're breaking hearts: the whole idea of this bill is to make sure that we don't give our children false hope, because we don't want to see our children go through university, rack up a huge HECS debt and then get to the end of it and not be able to get a job. So it is very important when it comes to universities and university degrees that there is a job at the end of it, because to come out before you've even left the starting blocks and have a massive HECS debt around your neck is not a good thing. It demotivates our children, and we don't want to see it happen.

It's also not smart from an overall economy perspective, because we've got a lot of unemployed graduates and at the same time have to import people from overseas to do our trades. If Senator Cash were here, she would say this bill about supporting apprenticeships is a great thing, because at the moment we've got a country where, in my view, we've got 500 architects and one builder as a result of those Dawkins plans, which turbocharged universities, instead of having one architect and 500 builders. We've got to try to fix all the money that's gone into higher education and hasn't actually got our children jobs, and that is what this bill is trying to do. We should never forget the importance of our trades—our carpenters, our mechanics—and lordy knows that out in the regions they can't get enough carpenters, mechanics or boilermakers. We need to match demand and supply so that our children can get a job and start earning a livelihood so that they can own a house, put a roof over their head and go forward and have children, basically able to provide for those children and have good health. I know it's an education bill, but it's about having a better economy and a happier lifestyle and about encouraging homeownership as well.

This leads to what I've written down here: whether through infrastructure, trade or health, good investment remains one of the best ways to grow the economy and produce jobs. This government has always been committed to smart investment. As we exit one of the biggest economic crises since World War II, investment has never been more important to getting Australians working again. This government has committed over $250 million in dam projects, $800 million for small business to transition into online business and $380 million for the regions in order to stimulate areas hardest hit by coronavirus, recent bushfires and drought.

Make no mistake: the job-ready guarantee bill is an investment. It is this government's investment in countless Australians who choose higher education. It is a stimulus for these Australians to make the most worthwhile investment in themselves. An investment in your own education creates opportunities for you for the remainder of your life. School leavers looking to start their career, people in the workforce upskilling and individuals looking for a change in career through new qualifications all have one thing in common: they are all investing in their future. Self-investment is a pillar of small government, a concept I am sure that those opposite could not hope to comprehend. But let me summarise: small governments allow individuals and businesses to largely manage and invest in themselves with appropriate checks and balances. It is a system where government does not overreach its authority or power but encourages individual improvement rather than government intervention. Common sense will tell you that when considering two investments that both see the same rewards, the cheaper investment will be more desirable. Higher education is no different. When a degree allows access into a rapidly developing sector with higher wage growth but also costs less to complete, then students will be inclined to study this degree. In 2009, enrolments in STEM subjects were approximately 14,000. When student contributions for these subjects fell in 2012, this number increased to 26,000. It was largely expected this growth would continue, paving the way for students to continue to choose STEM subjects and increase Australia's standing in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects. Unfortunately, due to a conveniently quiet 78 per cent increase for student contributions enacted by the then Labor government, a tactic Australians have come to expect from those opposite, we saw this number plateau, stifling growth in this sector of study. What do these figures demonstrate? They show us that the Australian public shares this government's view that higher education is an investment. It is not a small investment but one that, in many cases, reaps large rewards.

This government is not interested in making higher education a more difficult process for Australians. Instead, we want to support investment Australians make in themselves, in their future and in their education. We would like to see Aussies go through higher education and gain a foothold in the job market in order to receive the returns on their investment that they deserve, and that's a really key point about this bill. It's about making sure that Aussies can get a foothold in the job market when they graduate. We do not want to see students, after spending years of study putting their nose to the grindstone, come out and have no opportunities. There is nothing more heartbreaking than false hope. This is why, in conjunction with private industry, we have readjusted the funding being allocated to units based on future growth. This restructure shows Australians where the best possible returns are available for their investment. It has been restructured to ensure Aussies see the benefits both financially and personally in studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics by allowing student contributions to fall by 18 per cent for all STEM units.

It is true that the risk/reward factor is not the only factor students consider when choosing a degree. Passions and, in particular, some individuals' desire to help the community also play a role in determining the outcome. The government not only understands that desire to help the community but actively encourages it. This is why the funding has been restructured to support individuals who seek to give their lives to care for the sick and teach our kids. This will see a 42 per cent reduction in student contributions for units relating to teaching, nursing, psychology and languages. That can't come soon enough. When I was born, my home town, Chinchilla, had three midwives for a population of 3,000. It now has a population of 6,000, but no midwives and no maternity wards. One of the reasons it is so difficult to get nurses out to the regional areas is that the cost of studying to become a nurse is exorbitant. They have to do two degrees if they want to be both a midwife and a general practice nurse. When my mum did it—she had both tickets—she did it through training in the ward. That's something we need to look at—getting our nurses back on the wards, our teachers back into the classroom and our mechanics back in the workshop. I think there is a little bit too much emphasis on seeing our students spend time in the classroom rather than going out there and gaining on-the-job experience whilst they're studying.

Even in the COVID-19 era, this government understands that Australia is the food bowl of the world. We understand the need for growth in agriculture, particularly to support the rebound out of the pandemic. We understand one of the most rewarding investments Australia can make is in agriculture. All families need a farmer. Yet again I look at those opposite us. The Queensland state Labor government shut down three agricultural colleges in regional Queensland in this term of government. Why would they do that when our farmers look after the land? They're the ones on the land. Wouldn't you want to encourage farmers to adopt best practice so that they can look after their farms, manage their farms for all of our children's futures, generate income for themselves and have a prosperous regional community? For Labor to sit here and complain about what we are doing with this bill when they sat there and closed down pastoral colleges smacks of hypocrisy. This is why, in support of our agricultural industry, student contributions in units relating to agriculture will fall by 59 per cent.

Additionally, the government is allocating a further $400 million over the next four years for regional students, allowing greater opportunity and access to higher education for our regional and remote communities. It's interesting—I forgot to touch on this before—that my grandfather topped maths in the New South Wales Public Service exam in 1911. He never got to go to university; he had to go back to the farm. Maybe if this stuff had been around then, he might have gone and got a degree. Who knows? The additional funding will be prioritised into newly established regional university campuses and enhanced regional research opportunities in order to maximise the chance for these communities to attend university.

This government understands that regional communities have been particularly hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with many, particularly in Victoria, forced to sustain some of the world's harshest lockdown laws despite recording zero coronavirus cases in many regional areas. We also understand, particularly in this post-COVID era, that many within our regions and remote areas simply cannot afford to leave the home. This understanding has led to the development of a one-off $5,000 payment, known as a TAP payment, for regional school leavers who are forced to relocate more than 90 minutes in order to enrol in higher education. This new payment is designed to encourage students leaving school in these communities to enrol in higher education. I commend the bill to the Senate.