Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)

deplores the waste and mismanagement by the Gillard Government which has led to the decision to abolish the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC);

(b)

condemns this decision because the ALTC better directs the expenditure of billions of taxpayers’ dollars on teaching and learning in higher education;

(c)

considers that, in light of the Gillard Government nominating education and skills as top priorities for 2011, the abolition of the ALTC sends the signal that, despite its rhetoric, the Government does not care about improving excellence in teaching and learning;

(d)

considers that the abolition of the ALTC will have a deleterious effect on the Bradley agenda of higher education reform, particularly the Government’s commitment to increase the participation in higher education to 40 per cent of all 25 to 34 year olds by 2025; and

(e)

notes that more than 2 200 concerned citizens have now signed an electronic petition calling for the ALTC to be retained.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens cannot support the motion put forward by Senator Mason, although I do concur that the ALTC’s funds should not have ever been put in the bucket to make funding cuts from. That is, of course, why the Greens, in the negotiations over the flood levy, ensured that some of that money—and the important roles of the ALTC—would be retained. I would also like to point out while I am here that Senator Mason’s own leader, Tony Abbott accepted—and I am not sure whether or not Senator Mason is aware of this—all of the original cuts put forward by the Gillard government in the face of the debates over the flood levy, so Senator Mason’s own party had actually already accepted those cuts. Thankfully, the Australian Greens were able to negotiate to keep those roles and to ensure that some of the responsibilities were protected.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The job of the ALTC is to improve the quality and excellence of teaching at Australia’s universities. It costs the Australian taxpayer about $88 million over four years. The government have already said that they will provide $50 million of that $88 million and move the functions into a department, thereby saving about $38 million over four years—less than $10 million a year. What the ALTC does is better direct the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to Australian universities for teaching and learning. For the price of less than $10 million a year, and that is all it is, we are going to waste potentially hundreds of millions of dollars by expenditure of that money that is not as well directed, so not better directed. It is a total false economy. It is a charade coming from this government, who have wasted a fortune in so many other areas of government expenditure.

Question put:

That the motion (Senator Mason’s) be agreed to.