Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support this bill, the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Student Assistance and Other Measures) Bill 2021, and move the amendment circulated in my name:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes the Government has made it more expensive for Australian students to undertake tertiary study, and has pushed students into taking on more debt; and

(2) calls on the Government to ensure rural and remote students have access to quality continuing education".

Every Australian should have access to a world-class education, no matter their postcode. All Australians should have the opportunity to undertake further study should they choose to do so. We know that rural and remote students face extra and sizeable hurdles in undertaking high school and post-secondary education. In fact, I have just met with representatives from the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme, and this was one of the issues that the group of women I spoke to raised with me. Boarding accommodation, living expenses and travel represent some of the major challenges for regional and remote students. We all know, too well, that accommodation can be expensive, especially in inner city and suburban areas, and that affordable accommodation can be difficult to find. Travel from remote and regional areas can also be costly, but we also recognise that travel to reconnect with family can be important for educational success and the successful transition into post-secondary studies. Many have to defer studies because their families are unable to afford to continue.

This is why social security measures to assist remote and regional students is a proud Labor legacy. This bill will make administrative changes to the operation of the Aboriginal Study Assistance Scheme, known as Abstudy, and the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme, the AIC Scheme. Both schemes are designed to provide financial assistance to students and their families, helping to remove the barriers to education caused by distance and financial disadvantage. In 2020 the Abstudy scheme assisted about 27,000 students at school, university and TAFE. Over the same period, the AIC Scheme assisted around 13,000 students, some of whom are living in very isolated rural and remote regions.

The provisions in the bill align the tax file number requirements of the two schemes with those under our social security laws. Currently, under the legislation, primary school children are required to submit a tax file number. As a result of these changes, only the parents of the AIC applicants will need to submit a tax file number. Labor does support these changes, ending the bureaucratic absurdity of government agencies asking schoolchildren for their tax file number.

But the legislation does provides me with the opportunity to remind the parliament that these two education schemes are Labor legacy programs, introduced during the Whitlam government and its great education reform agenda under the guidance of Kim Beazley Sr. We know that Labor has a great history of equality of access to education. It was a Labor government that provided financial support for students to undertake study and training during World War II. This is our legacy. By contrast, this coalition has again done nothing new for this cohort. These legislative changes are a missed opportunity to introduce real reform of the scheme's administrative processes to fast-track benefits to families that are working to do the best for their children.

Labor believes that ease of access should be the priority of any proposed change for a government with the mantra of reducing red tape. In this case, the government knows that families applying to access the AIC need an online application process. In fact, this was one of the very issues that was raised with me by the isolated children program this morning. It's ridiculous to think that there isn't an online process for these families. They are living in very isolated communities—on cattle stations, on sheep stations and in rural and regional Australia, particularly in rural Australia—and the fact that they have to do this without an online application is just ridiculous and something, you would think, from times gone by.

So this legislation is a missed opportunity. Ease of access should be the priority of any proposed change for a government with the mantra, as I said, of reducing red tape. In this case, the government knows that families applying to access the AIC need an online application process. This is just a no-brainer. An update in the current administrative process doesn't require legislative change, just a political will. These families also want the government to recognise that geographic isolation creates additional costs for parents who are educating their children from home. Today, as I said, I met with parents from isolated parts of Australia and, again, there is nothing in the budget to address the concerns of these families.

You just need to reflect on the government's continued inaction on this issue and its education policies over the last eight long and tired years. We know that this government is trying to move us to an American-style system of tertiary education. Last year Scott Morrison passed a bill that makes it harder and more expensive for Australians to go to university. Around 40 per cent of students will have their fees increased to $14,500 per year, including in law, commerce, accountancy, economics and communications—doubling fees for some students, particularly those wanting to do humanities. That's more than for people doing medicine and dentistry degrees. It is a ludicrous situation, and I'm afraid it will come home to roost and it will be the people wishing to pursue those degrees who will feel the pain. Fees for law, commerce, business and communication degrees will increase by thousands of dollars per year. Tell me the logic in that. He is making students go into an American-style debt which will have lasting consequences throughout their lives, including in saving for a home. What's more, there is no evidence that studying these degrees will make you less job ready than any other. There is no logic to it. In fact, according to research from Victoria University, people with humanities degrees have higher employment rates than science or maths graduates.

Think about the year 12 students who have had a hell of a final year because of COVID. The last thing they need is the Liberals making it harder and more expensive for them to go to university. But that is exactly what is happening. Parents know that getting a great education is a ticket to a great job and a lifetime of opportunity for their children. Labor believes education and jobs go hand in hand. By locking young Australians out of university, Scott Morrison is locking them out of their job of choice. We want every Australian to get a great education no matter where they live. That is essentially what this bill is about—the training they need to get a job, whether that is at university or at TAFE, to get ahead and stay ahead.

Then there are the First Australian students and the Job-ready Graduates bill. Given the enrolment patterns of universities, these changes will be more costly for Indigenous Australians than for non-Indigenous Australians, which is just ludicrous. This is because Indigenous students are more likely than non-Indigenous students to enrol in courses affected by these changes. The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium provided data in their submission to the Senate inquiry into the Higher Education Support Amendment (Job-Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Bill 2020 which revealed a significant impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. They said:

2018 data shows over 52% of Indigenous students were enrolled in programs that will be impacted by an increase in student contributions for humanities based disciplines.

This will result in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students graduating with a higher HECS debt than non-Indigenous students and moving into the workforce with a greater financial burden.

School funding is another example of a coalition government making it harder for Australian families to educate their children, particularly those living in rural and regional Australia. It's been remarkable to watch schools convert to online learning almost overnight. It is a testament to everyone in the sector.

Remote learning has been necessary, but there is no doubt that it's pushing disadvantaged students further behind their peers. Even when it works well, disadvantaged students usually learn at about 50 per cent of the usual rate. That means that they would have lost about one month of learning over two months of remote schooling. This is why Closing the Gap needs to be a priority, and this government needs to commit the resources needed to make it happen. But that certainly did not happen in the budget that we heard last night and have read about today. There is absolutely nothing but rebadged money in the First Nations space, and, despite the rhetoric of the Prime Minister at the beginning of the year, no additional money for Closing the Gap targets. That needs to be said clearly and plainly.

It would be nice if the Prime Minister would take educating children living in rural and remote areas seriously. The Prime Minister should be providing the resources needed to target and reverse the existing disadvantage that children are experiencing living in isolated regions of Australia instead of holding public schools back from their full fair funding. As expected, the coalition government has once again failed to provide the resources needed, even in a time of plenty, to meet the Closing the Gap targets for education. Shame on the coalition government, Prime Minister, when we know that it is education that delivers jobs and lifts people out of poverty.

The latest data shows a two-year gap in maths literacy between metropolitan and remote students. Our public schools educate more than 70 per cent of our regional students. But, under this government, these young people are missing out. Under the Liberal school funding deals, almost every Australian public school receives far less than its fair funding level. Labor believes every school in Australia should be an excellent school. No matter where you live, parents should be comfortable that they can send their children to a public school down the road where they will get a world-class education.

In conclusion, every Australian should have access to a world-class education, no matter their postcode. But, under the Liberals, our students are falling behind, especially in rural and regional and remote areas. It is unacceptable for anyone to miss out on achieving their potential because of their background, geography, disability or any other educational disadvantage. This bill is a missed opportunity to do just that—introduce genuine reform, reduce red tape and update and fast-track access. That is why Labor has moved the second reading amendment circulated in my name.

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