Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

The coalition supported the amendments moved by Senator Xenophon and the Greens in the Senate which would enable the government to make arrangements for consequential costs incurred by the victims of collapsed private training colleges. At the moment, only direct losses of fees paid can be compensated under the fund. We support these amendments because they are about providing some appropriate protections for students who are caught up, through no fault of their own, in the collapse of these colleges. While the minister tried to tell us that these amendments are ill-considered and that they could not commit to such costs, I would make the point that these amendments simply provide the minister with the power to make regulations to provide for consequential losses for students where there has been a collapse of a college.

We do realise that further amendments may be likely in the near future, especially once the Baird review—chaired by my former colleague and very good former member for Cook—which will further look at this legislation, has reported. But the Rudd government should immediately pass this important legislation with the amendments provided by the Senate to improve the quality of education services for overseas students in Australia. The coalition does not agree to the motion moved by the Minister for Education that the Senate amendments moved by Senator Xenophon and the Greens be disagreed to.

Question agreed to.

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