Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think as we all know, international education is Australia's fourth-biggest export. It contributes around $40 billion to the Australian economy. Normally, there are around 680,000 international students in Australia and, without a doubt, they certainly contribute to our cities' livelihoods. This is a cohort who, on top of the fees they pay, spend considerable money on accommodation and leisure, and, as we know, they support many of our small and family businesses. That's not just in our cities; they also travel into rural and regional Australia.

What we are seeing with the safe reopening of Australia really demonstrates the success of our national plan as the government continues to work with Australians to get Australia back to normal and to reopen Australia to the world. As the Prime Minister himself said yesterday, it's another win for Australians who want to see Australia return to some form of the normality we knew before COVID-19. (Time expired)