Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Higher Education Support Amendment (Demand Driven Funding System and Other Measures) Bill 2011. I am sure I mirror the sentiments of all members of the House when I say that when I visit the schools in my electorate, particularly in those areas of greater socioeconomic challenge, I like to say to the students, and particularly the primary students, that a great future awaits them because they live in this country; that this is a country of opportunity where if you have a big dream and you are prepared to work for it, you can achieve it. God forbid that that should ever change. It is important that we do talk up the dreams of young Australians and remind them that they do have great opportunities. Many of those opportunities will be provided through tertiary education. I say to them that one day—and I seriously mean this—one of them could be Prime Minister of this great country. I believe that, and I hope they believe it as well. One day they could run BHP. As I say in Western Australia, they could be doctors or nurses in Royal Perth Hospital saving lives, or they could be Qantas pilots flying around the world.

These are some of the great dreams that I hope the young people of Australia will have. I hope that they do not just listen to those influences in their lives which are not as ambitious; those influences in their lives which might lead them to believe that their only hope for the future is a life of welfare dependency. It is important that we as community leaders, and this is certainly the way I approach it, talk up the dreams and talk up the ambitions of these young people and remind them of their opportunities. Many of these opportunities will be delivered through university education—there is no doubt about that—but it is not a good idea to try to re-establish the Keating-esque view of the world where if you do not have a degree you are somehow at a lower level.

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