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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Education. Minister, your government's Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill is a blatant attack on international students, student choice and university independence. It is a power grab and a self-interested, politically driven approach to higher education which will be terrible for Australia's reputation as a place to study. Not since Scott Morrison's disastrous Job-ready Graduates Package have we seen such strong opposition from the sector, with everyone from the Group of Eight and Universities Australia to the New South Wales and South Australian governments lining up to slam the bill. Everyone I've spoken to—unions, experts, unis and students—all hate this bill. Will you dump the destructive international student caps bill?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Faruqi. The short answer to your question is no. Unlike the Greens political party, this government does recognise that we do need to put some caps and some limits around the level of migration we are seeing to Australia at the moment, in particular through the international education system.

I don't have the figures right in front of me at the moment, but we have seen a massive growth in international education over the last couple of years in Australia, and that is putting unsustainable pressure on the amount of migration that we are receiving in this country at a time when people are experiencing cost-of-living pressures and very real housing pressures.

What would help to deal with this situation is if we could have any bit of cooperation whatsoever from the Greens political party when it comes to providing more housing for Australians. Instead, what we see from the Greens is constant cries for more housing and then constant votes against the initiatives that we take in this chamber to try to deliver more housing. We saw that it took many, many months for the Greens to finally capitulate and vote for the government's Housing Australia Future Fund, which will be delivering tens of thousands of new homes. Even in the last fortnight, what have we seen from the Greens when it comes to housing? We've seen them obstruct, delay and block more legislation from this government to help renters buy their own homes and also to encourage developers to invest in housing through our build-to-rent scheme.

The Greens want to have it both ways. They want to get out there with their social media memes and their rallies and demand more housing. But, at the same time that they want housing, they also want to have rallies against particular housing developments. They want to call for more housing when they're out there on the forecourt in a press conference. But, when they come in this room, they vote against new housing being delivered, they vote against building to rent, they vote against Help to Buy and they also want to vote against measures like what we are taking with international education to put some limits on migration. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, first supplementary?

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

Minister, you have just confirmed that your international student caps bill is nothing but a racist dog whistle of a policy, falsely—and you've done it again now—conflating international students, the housing crisis and the cost-of-living crisis. You're punishing international students for the government's own failures.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, resume your seat. Senator McAllister.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order: Senator Faruqi is reflecting on the minister, and she ought to withdraw it.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, I heard you say 'a racist policy' and that you weren't reflecting on the minister, but, if you could, just confirm that.

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

Yes, President, I did say 'a racist dog whistle of a policy'.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, I remind you, in this chamber, that I expect senators to clarify without repeating what someone else has found offensive. I ask you to hold that in your thoughts next time you stand.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do ask that people reflect on the transcript. It was a very specific reference to 'your' policy, and it related to the minister to whom the question was addressed.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, I don't recall—

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order! I wrote down the keywords of your question. I am advised by the Clerk. If you made the reference 'your' policy—so I ask you to reflect on your notes—withdraw that part of your question without repeating the offence.

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

President, I don't have a 'your' in my script here, so I don't know, but it is 'your'—meaning the government's—policy.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, you've indicated that you intend it to be 'your', so I am now going to ask you to withdraw.

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

I will put the question again, if you don't mind.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

First of all, Senator Faruqi—

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order across the chamber! Senator Scarr, resume your seat. I haven't finished; I'm talking to Senator Faruqi at this time. Senator Faruqi, I have asked you to withdraw that part of your question, so I simply need you to stand up and withdraw, and then I will allow you to re-ask the question, if that is your request.

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

I withdraw.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. There being no further points of order, I ask Senator Faruqi to bear in mind the discussion we've just had and to re-ask the question.

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

President, could we reset the clock then.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, certainly, Senator Faruqi.

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

Thank you, President. Minister, you have just confirmed that the government's international students cap bill is a racist dog whistle of a policy that falsely conflates international students, the housing crisis and the cost-of-living crisis. It punishes international students for the government's failures. As if this scapegoating wasn't enough, you have now more than doubled the fees of student visa applications. When will the government stop punching down on international students and start supporting them? (Time expired)

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You can always rely on the Greens political party to try to bring Australians together, can't you? Never very far from a wedge motion, never very far from a wedge political statement, demanding high standards of everyone else but going low themselves—that's what we've come to expect from the Greens political party.

The reality is that international education is a huge Australian asset. It's a big asset for our country economically, socially and diplomatically, and we must protect our international education system to ensure that it remains so. The reality is that this government's actions are about restoring quality and integrity to the international education sector after the shonks in the sector were left untouched for the last decade. The Greens might want to defend a shonky system of international education that was left behind by the former coalition government, but we're cleaning it up. At the same time, we are delivering the housing that Australians are desperate to have and that the Greens keep opposing. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Faruqi, a second supplementary?

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

Minister, capping international student numbers will do nothing to fix the rental or the housing crisis, but capping rents will. Why won't your government take real action on the housing crisis by capping rents, by phasing out unfair tax handouts for property investors and by establishing a public developer?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the dorothy dixer, Senator Faruqi. Do you know what will do something about housing shortages? What will do something about housing shortages and letting more Australians into more housing is voting for Labor's Help to Buy Bill. That's what will do it. What are the Greens doing about that? They're teaming up with Peter Dutton and the coalition to stop that from going through.

Do you know what will also help Australians get into more housing? It's voting for Labor's build to rent bill. What are the Greens doing on that? The Greens are teaming up with Peter Dutton and the coalition to stop that as well. What did the Greens do when we were trying, for months, to pass the Housing Australia Future Fund legislation to deliver 30,000 more homes? You teamed up with the coalition and Peter Dutton for months, to stop that as well. That's what will do something about housing—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, I remind you to refer to those in the other place by their correct title.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sure. There are three examples, and that's without me even trying to think about them. There were two examples in the last fortnight, where the Greens have teamed up with Mr Dutton and the coalition to stop more housing being built, stop renters being able to get into their own housing and stop developers from building more housing. You want to come in here and keep whingeing about housing shortages when you keep voting to stop them from being fixed. (Time expired)