Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

We're bringing Australia's universities closer to students living in regional, rural and remote areas with the expansion of our Regional University Study Hubs network. From King Island to Arnhem Land and down to Victor Harbor, these 10 new study hubs are part of our $66.9 million commitment to increase access to university by establishing more hubs across Australia.

A lack of access is something that is often raised with me when I'm travelling throughout regional Queensland, so I'm thrilled that Longreach, Innisfail, Warwick and Chinchilla are all set to have hubs established within their town over the next 12 months. The education reforms that Labor pursued in the 1980s and 1990s boosted the number of students finishing high school from 40 per cent to almost 80 per cent. Now, the Albanese government seeks to do the same with our tertiary sector. The Universities Accord report recommends that 80 per cent of the workforce will need a university or VET qualification by 2050. We're currently sitting at 60 per cent. The report made it clear that, if we're going to have the workforce of the future, we need to hit that 80 per cent target. These graduates won't just come from the cities or suburbs. If they do, we won't hit that target. We need students in our regions to study, graduate and continue to live there, and that starts with improving access through our Regional University Study Hubs network.

If you're a student from the regions, you're not only less likely to finish high school but also you're less likely to go to TAFE or university. In our cities almost one in two young people in their 20s and 30s have a university degree. These hubs are the first step in our plan to bridge this gap in opportunity. They reaffirm our government's belief that everyone deserves a world-class education, no matter who they are or where they live. An Albanese government will be rolling out 10 more of these regional university study hubs in country areas and 14 in suburban areas.