Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the Senate that the President has received the following letter, dated 11 September 2024, from Senator McKim:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today I propose to 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".

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

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

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to firstly place clearly on the record that the coalition vehemently disagrees with the Greens about the need for caps on international students studying in Australia. I also have real issue with the way you've characterised the Liberals, Senator Faruqi—the reference of the word 'racist' is appalling—and I would ask, through you, Chair, that you consider withdrawing such a slur on the Liberal Party, because we have a very proud history of supporting international education in this country. We have a very a proud history of supporting a great multicultural country, but the capping of foreign student numbers is critical to fixing Labor's immigration chaos.

Since Labor was elected, the number of foreign students has increased from 336,000 in March 2022 to well over 800,000. This has fuelled a housing crisis, particularly in large metropolitan centres. As we heard during our Senate inquiry into the bill, 500,000 foreign students have been forced into the private rental market. In the suburb of Glebe, near the University of Sydney, where foreign students now number 52 per cent of all students, rents have gone up by 17 per cent in just 12 months. In Clayton, which is the home of Monash University, rents are up a staggering 20 per cent in 12 months. By bringing in 1.6 million migrants into Australia over five years, Labor's 'big Australia' policy has completely failed to safeguard the national interest, including the right to find an affordable home, see a doctor and access other essential services.

But I will agree with the Greens on this. The government has made a complete mess of its proposal to cap international student numbers, and I am disgusted. I share Senator Faruqi's disgust with the way in which the government has treated this parliament and the higher education sector. In the Senate hearings that we have had into the bill, the government has done everything it possibly can to keep the actual student caps provided to each higher education and VET provider a secret. Even last Friday, after we said very strongly that we opposed the way the government was treating the parliament and the sector, they were still keeping all the separate international student caps secret from the Senate committee. That is completely unacceptable. Labor has made a real mockery of the Senate inquiry process. What we do know is that, of the provider caps that have now been given to the sector, the total allocation for universities has gone backwards by one per cent. But we understand that across the private higher education and VET sectors it has gone back by 28 per cent. So we are seeing gross discrimination at play.

The minister, when he announced these caps, said this was a win for the regions. We've now learned, through the Senate inquiry, that this is not a win for the regions. A number of regional universities have done very badly out of these caps, because the government have basically gone about imposing these caps without any transparency and have been doing deals behind closed doors.

We are, as a committee, seeking to extend the reporting date of the committee. We're also seeking to reopen submissions and have another public hearing, because the way the government is treating this whole issue, including the sector, is absolutely not good enough.

The coalition will implement a hard cap on the international student program in consultation with the higher education sector, which is what has been missing. International students contribute to the Australian economy. They provide valuable labour by working in casual and part-time jobs. However, the vast majority of international students are housed off-campus. This is placing enormous pressure on housing. There is a housing crisis courtesy of this government. That is not good enough. We need a system that manages this properly. (Time expired)

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have, in the international education sector, an economic and social contribution to our nation that is incredibly important. It's important for those students in their future lives abroad and indeed for those who might progress to migrating to Australia. But we are progressing reforms, as a government, to strengthen the integrity and sustainability of international education in our nation.

I've got many dear friends all over the world who I met as international students, and they form such a firm foundation for government-to-government and community-to-community relationships right around the world. But, following the pandemic, when international students were in grave strife, often trapped without incomes et cetera, we had to work hard to come back from that. But international students have indeed voted with confidence in Australian education and have come back stronger than anyone expected. We have about 10 per cent more in our universities and almost 50 per cent more in our VET sector. But when we look at what the government is actually doing now—at the new limits that have been set out transparently to university institutions, for example—we'll see 23 of our 38 universities set above the 2023 student numbers and, for 34 of the 38 universities, above the levels of student numbers that they had in 2019.

What we don't want to see is what has happened, which is that the growth of the sector post the COVID pandemic has lured back unscrupulous providers, who are motivated by profit, not quality. It has lured students to Australia who seek to work in Australia, not to study. We are as a government determined to commit ourselves and continue to remain committed to the integrity of the sector, strengthening the sector and ensuring it retains and maintains a social licence so that we can confidently invite international students here and know that they will be welcome. We need this experience to benefit students and our partners overseas but also Australians. We need reform to ensure sustainable growth into the future. So, subject to the passage of legislation before the Senate, we are intending to set a national planning level for overseas student commencements at a rate of 270,000 for the calendar year of 2025.

The NPL will support a managed international education system designed to grow sustainably over time. We can't have a system of international education that sets housing economies and employment markets completely out of whack. We need to be careful about how we balance higher education and VET sectors, for example. For publicly funded universities, the managed-growth approach, in aggregate, will result in around 145,000 new overseas student commencements in 2025, which is very close to last year's number. For other providers, in aggregate, their new overseas student commencements in 2025 will be around 30,000. That is about the same as student numbers were before the pandemic. That is where they should be, because that is where a quality VET service to international students was seen. We've got to cut out sham providers and people seeking to come to Australia simply to access the labour market. We will, though, see around— (Time expired)

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McKim's motion talks about the government's disregard and contempt for international students. Let's be honest: it's to keep foreign students' numbers uncapped. This motion shows the Greens' disregard and contempt for Australian families experiencing homelessness and mortgage stress. As always, the Greens are putting the interests of foreigners before the interests of the Australian people and Australian university students.

There were more than 810,000 international student enrolments in Australian universities as of May this year. That's more than the entire population of Tasmania and the Northern Territory combined. These same universities, which make billions of dollars a year from international education, make insufficient provision to house all these students. Last year it was reported that international students took up about 70 per cent of available rental accommodation in Australia. That's an appalling figure when so many Australian people are struggling with rental vacancy rates in mainland capital cities that have fallen to under one per cent. International students are also affecting the quality of education for Australian students, who are being left behind. So many of them cannot speak English and sit in lectures and seminars with their phones translating for them or get lectures in Mandarin.

The Greens must learn a simple fact: record immigration and international student numbers are hurting this country while the Greens advocate for more immigration, more refugees and, now, more international students. Australia owes nothing to foreigners that it does not first owe to Australian citizens. In fact, our universities, built and funded by Australian taxpayers, cost approximately $20 billion to $25 billion a year, and that includes student loans. They are classified as charities and don't pay tax. We have the bull by the horns if we now believe foreign students are more important than Aussies when it comes to educational and living standards. As for Senator McKim, he is trying to use foreign students to prop up the University of Tasmania, regardless of the impact on housing, while rents in Tasmania have doubled and vacancy rates in Hobart have fallen to less than 1½ per cent.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, rise to speak on this matter of urgency moved by Senator McKim, and on one thing we agree: the value of Australia's international education sector. It is a vital part of our economy, and international students are a valuable part of our communities. That's why it's important that we progress reforms that strengthen the sector's integrity and sustainability. Such reforms will ensure that students have a brilliant experience in Australia and go on to be proud ambassadors for our country and our values when they return home. I want to make it absolutely clear that our government is committed to this sector and its future. That's why, subject to the passage of legislation which is currently before the Senate, the government will set a national planning level for new overseas student commencements of 270,000 for 2025, divided between the higher education and the VET sectors.

Since the pandemic, international enrolment numbers have surged more strongly than anyone expected and, unfortunately, some of these enrolments are people who seek to work in Australia, not study. That needs to happen through the appropriate pathways. We have also clearly seen a resurgence of unscrupulous operators who are focused on profit over delivering quality education. That leads to bad outcomes for students—students whom we want to have an amazing and transformative experience in our education system; students whom, as I said, we want to return to their countries with nothing but positivity and share with others about their time in Australia and the education that they received here. That's why the government has taken these measures to deliver sustainable growth for our international education system into the future.

This policy will ensure that students coming to Australia can be confident that they are investing in a high-quality education and study experience. Since the pandemic we have seen that the previous, unmanaged system presented unacceptable risks to the quality of international education received by students and that it would ultimately undermine the strength of our sector and its reputation internationally. The government has released indicative international student profiles, using a transparent formula that has been designed to ensure that regional universities, in particular, whose enrolments have generally not returned to prepandemic levels, have room to recover from the pandemic and continue to grow.

These proposals do not decimate the sector, as this motion claims. They do not cut enrolments by 90 per cent or any of the other misleading numbers that members of this chamber have claimed. The fact is that, overall, public universities will be able to take roughly the same number of new students next year as they did last year. For publicly funded universities, our government's approach will result in around 145,000 new overseas student commencements in 2025, which is close to last year's number.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Regional universities are going backwards. Only the group of eight are—

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson, you were heard in silence.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thought it was my turn to speak, but that's alright. I'll keep going. Almost all universities—89 per cent—have received an indicative allocation for 2025 at or above their 2019 level. That includes the three great universities in my home state of South Australia, all of which have received an indicative allocation higher than their new overseas student commencements in 2023.

Honourable senators interjecting—

I have interjections about misinformation from the Greens, which is hilarious. Perhaps, Acting Deputy President, you could—

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would remind senators that others are being heard in silence, and I would appreciate the same courtesy. Senator Smith, you have the call.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After nine years of mismanagement by those opposite, we are working to get our higher education sector back on track. We are trying to do so in a way which advances and supports a quality international education offering and which leads to a positive experience for students when they come to Australia. We're also doing what we can to support those students in Australia for whom university is the pathway that they prefer, that they choose and that they seek to have a transformational benefit from—for Australian students to be able to go to university—and we're supporting them to do so by wiping $3 billion in student debt for more than three million Australians.

We're making higher education more accessible and more affordable for students. That follows the landmark Australian Universities Accord final report which contains 47 recommendations and targets to reform higher education and set it up for the next decade and beyond. We're already progressing this work by committing to suburban hubs and regional university study hubs and expanding access to First Nations students in particular. I visited a number of these student hubs around regional South Australia. They offer a huge benefit to students who wish to further their education but do so in a way where they can stay at home, continue studying at home and continue studying their prac placements at home.

David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Senate committee inquiry into the government's Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024, or ESOS, has heard overwhelming evidence of a bill that has been rushed, poorly drafted, poorly consulted on and which presents serious risks to the higher education sector, including the already record low research funding levels, as well as the economy more broadly. That's not to say that the government's objectives are wrong. The integrity measures are welcome and much needed. There is a genuine issue in some courses in some organisations with an over enrolment of international students leading to poor student outcomes. No-one can deny that housing affordability is one of the biggest issues we face. A strategy for immigration—how big Australia gets—is needed. I believe that is something Australians want, but this bill, as drafted, doesn't deal with those issues.

There are a range of sensible amendments that could make this legislation more workable, but there must be a delay in implementation. It is getting so close to the start of the next university year. We simply cannot risk the reputational damage from rescinding offers that are already out there—that students are planning for next year. We can't risk the hit to the economy from slowing too quickly our biggest non-mining export industry. I cannot see how government and higher education providers can possibly be in a position to implement this in a matter of months. We need to delay the start date, put a safety net and a buffer around the caps, provide a process to challenge individual caps and sunset the extraordinary powers that this bill gives the minister.

I urge the government and the coalition to work in good faith with the sector to get a good outcome for such an important part of our economy and the staff and students at its heart.

Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to this urgency motion and to the dire state of our university sector. I know, after 25 years working in the sector, that public higher education fulfils a vital role in society and the benefits are broad-reaching, and I've witnessed the extraordinary strain in the sector.

Universities educate workers of the future, equipping them with the skills, knowledge and critical thinking that we need for democratic participation and inclusion in a constantly changing labour market.

This week is Social Sciences Week. Not a week goes by without this place being dependent on the work of social scientists: their research and their training of people who inform all of our work in this place. High-quality, accessible education serves the public good and should be adequately funded by governments. Students should have fee-free access to a safe and effective learning environment, and staff need secure jobs and pay.

Inadequate public funding and the gradual corporatisation of Australian universities has eroded the quality of research, teaching and employment. The future of public university hangs in the balance, and this cap on international students will only make things worse—much worse. Rather than address the structural issue of chronic university underfunding, this government would rather scapegoat international students and blame them for the housing and cost-of-living crises.

Australian universities have been chronically underfunded for decades. The structural crises in university funding and workforce reflect decades of punitive restructuring and underfunding, and they pushed deregulation and privatisation that's been underway in our sector since the mid-1980s. Federal funding for universities between 1995 and 2021 declined by $6.5 billion. That equates to almost half of current higher education funding. In addition, Australian universities are experiencing an epidemic of insecure and casualised employment. It's been going on for years.

If this bill is passed, it will put a further 14,000 university jobs at risk, according to the sector. I know what this means for research and the quality of teaching in our Australian higher education system. Make no mistake: this is an appalling migration policy masquerading as an education policy. This bill is a political smokescreen that the government hopes will give it an upper hand in its political battle with Peter Dutton on migration ahead of the next election. This is wrong on so many counts.

International students accounted for more than half of Australia's GDP growth last year, almost single-handedly saving the nation from recession. International students are more than numbers or commodities; they bring culture and vibrancy to our cities, towns and campuses. International students pay astronomical fees, yet too often face bias, discrimination and racism. In my home state of South Australia, international education is the largest export sector. In 2023 it was worth over $3 billion to our state economy, and our community in South Australia would be so much worse off on so many counts without our international graduates.

In the hearings about the international student caps, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, Professor Jennie Shaw, said, 'The imposition of caps endangers the future prosperity of South Australia.' The president of the Flinders University Student Association also said that the government's measures over the past 12 months have left international students feeling completely dehumanised. There was universal opposition to this chaotic and reckless bill at the inquiry hearings.

The higher education sector will be collateral damage in this race to the bottom and race to the Right on migration between Labor and the Liberals. The government must scrap the caps and immediately get rid of ministerial direction 107. They must go back to the drawing board. They must genuinely consult with the higher education sector and restore public funding to these critical institutions which are so important to the economic, social and cultural health and richness of our country.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Faruqi be agreed to.