Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The Labor government is displaying absolute disregard and contempt for the international education sector and international students with their chaotic policy which will decimate the tertiary education sector.

The Labor government is intent on destroying the international education sector in Australia. Over three Senate inquiry hearings, we heard from witness after witness—from students, from academics, from universities, from peak bodies and from private providers. They are pretty unanimous in their opposition to this reckless policy and the chaotic process that has brought us to this stage, where a government is hell-bent on decimating the tertiary education sector.

We are staring down the barrel of thousands of job losses, irreparable damage to Australia's reputation as a welcoming destination for international students and a complete betrayal of the principles of university autonomy and student choice. For decades, governments of both stripes have been slashing funding for unis, and they have all become over reliant on international students, whose exorbitant fees now cross-subsidise domestic students and research.

This situation should never have arisen. International students should never have been used as cash cows. But here we are, because of the short-sightedness of governments. And now they want to slash and burn, with no plans on how the shortfall of funds will be met. This is just plain disastrous. Labor is holding the sector hostage by telling them they will get rid of the crappy MD107 if these gaps are in place. This is a choice between two evils. It is a no-win situation, and I'm glad people can see right through this and are fighting back because their livelihood, their profession and the future of education in this country are on the line.

Labor will tell you that this is all about ensuring quality and integrity. But 70 submissions and three hearings later, no-one is able to tell me that caps have anything to do with quality or integrity. And let me tell you about how Labor has made a complete mockery of the Senate inquiry process itself. They released the university cap numbers the day after our original final hearing. When we pushed for a further hearing, the government published caps for the VET sector while we were in that hearing. The government knows they don't have a leg to stand on, so they want to avoid any scrutiny. Well, we're not going to let that happen.

Evidence shows gaping holes, perverse outcomes, uncertainties, inconsistencies and a complete lack of consultation. These are just some of the flaws that make the whole policy and its process a complete catastrophe. This is a hot mess. The more details that are forced out of the government, the messier this trainwreck gets. Not only is the Labor government intent on decimating the sector; they have absolutely zero regard for the harm they are doing to international students by making them scapegoats for their own policy failures and blaming them for the housing crisis—just disgraceful.

International students pay massive fees. They work here doing the jobs no-one else does. They bring vibrancy, diversity and culture. They keep unis and the economy going. And you have the audacity to scapegoat and demonise them. And I am loath to frame education as an export sector, because for me it is a public good and a pursuit of knowledge. But the reality is that it is the second-highest export, mining being the first. If anything, it should be climate-wrecking coal and gas that you should be capping, not international student numbers. And if Labor really cares about tertiary education, then fully fund it; wipe student debt, make uni and TAFE free, scrap the Job-ready Graduates Package and give staff job security. Don't come to the table with half-cooked rubbish policy.

Labor is hell-bent on strangling the sector in their bullish attempt to achieve a migration outcome that has absolutely nothing to do with international students' education. The Liberals don't have clean hands, either. Both have the same racist playbook on migrants. The tertiary education sector, their staff and their students are becoming collateral damage in this shameful racist race to the bottom between Labor and the Liberals on migration.

Prime Minister Albanese knows how to backflip. It's time he backflips on these reckless, irrational and illogical caps. It's time to go back to the drawing board and come back with an education bill, not a migration policy.