Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about the devastating impacts of the federal government's reforms to the higher education system. Today in Darwin there was a rally at Charles Darwin University to protest against the devastating impacts that will come from the federal government's reforms to the higher education system. Charles Darwin University punches well above its weight internationally. It is ranked in the top two per cent of universities and it is ranked 10th out of the 21 Australian universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. These are phenomenal rankings for a regional university, as I think you would agree, Mr Deputy Speaker Irons. Further, CDU is at the heart of our Northern Territory government's plans to revitalise the CBD in Darwin, a CBD that has been smashed by coalition government job cuts in the AEC office and the ABS office, and by the closure of the ATO office. While the university is trying to help breathe new life into our northern capital, the coalition government is trying to slash funding to our university and slash jobs.

The education package proposed by this coalition government means CDU will lose up to $63 million over the forward estimates. This is a huge sum of money for us in the north. If the proposed legislation passes, it will mean job losses, cancelled courses and fewer Territorians being able to afford a university education. Charles Darwin University is not rolling in cash. If the coalition government think that regional universities like CDU are rolling in cash, they are even more out of touch than I thought they were. These cuts will hurt Charles Darwin University. These cuts will hurt our Northern Territory economy. These cuts will hurt Territorians and their families. Job cuts will be a reality.

These changes to funding are going to have a serious impact. They are unfair and fall under a typical coalition government funding model that punishes hardworking Australians for trying to get ahead in life. How dare the good people of the north want a university education, even if perhaps they can't afford it! A good proportion of CDU students are mature age and from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, so they have jobs and families, which means they often take a little longer to finish their courses. However, the funding model proposed by the coalition will punish universities who have slower-to-graduate students enrolled. The coalition government may not know this, but not everyone can afford to study full-time. Modelling by the NTEU has found that the funding changes will mean a direct loss of 60 to 75 jobs. That is huge for our economy. That is huge for our community. Sixty to 75 jobs in the north means a lot.