Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In 1996, I ran to become the president of my student union. I ran on a platform that included a range of things—obviously $1-pot night at the student club was very high up there! I also ran on a platform of defending students and higher education from the attacks on students, universities and the public by the then Howard government. Interestingly enough, 20 years later here we are still fighting against attacks on higher education by conservative governments. I am pleased to say that I have been on the same side of that for the entire period. I have always fought, for my entire life, against attacks on higher education by conservative governments. I intend to continue to do so or, even better, to be part of a Labor government that will defend higher education and invest in higher education because of the benefits that it brings to this nation and this nation's future.

But, interestingly enough, just two years before my amazing run for the presidency of my student union—something that is very dear to my heart—there was another person running to become the president of his student union. It is interesting to see where both of us have ended up. That person, like me, ran to become the president of his student union. I am sure it was an illustrious campaign and that he served an amazing term as the president of his student union if he won—I do not know if he did; maybe he did. But I have seen the flyer that he used when he was running for the presidency of the student union. Of course, I am speaking of the now Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Birmingham. Everyone here would be a fan of BuzzFeed. I am certainly a fan of BuzzFeed. I know, Mr Deputy Speaker Hastie, you are a great appreciator of the works of Mark Di Stefano and, like me, you are probably gutted to hear that he is leaving our country and going off to the UK so we will not have him here for BuzzFeed anymore.

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