Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Dr Garland, the member for Chisholm, for this higher education motion because education policies foster great transformational opportunities in life. That's why it's always at the core of labour policies and Labor policies—from setting up mechanics institutes and arts centres for workers to improve themselves at night back in the 1800s, right through to universal education and the Gonski reforms of this century. Education permits individuals and societies to thrive. Obviously, early childhood is crucial, primary and high school consolidate and allow some catch-up, and vocational education can then be an important pathway to prosperity and dignity. However, in this speech, I'd like to focus particularly on university education.

In many ways, university provides the pinnacle for many educational journeys—that transformative experience that opens doors, expands horizons and shapes the future not only of the individual but also of the country that they then shape with their knowledge. Therefore, ensuring access to university education is not just a matter of personal opportunity but a matter of societal progress. Having strong universities is in our national interest. That's why, just over a year after the Albanese Labor government was elected, we're delivering an additional 20,000 university places to tackle skills shortages and give more students from under-represented backgrounds the chance to go to university.

This country needs our best and brightest people at university. A university education plays a pivotal role in promoting social mobility and reducing inequality. It serves as a powerful equaliser, breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds, mixing the bush with the city, the poor with the wealthy, new Australians with old Australians and the rest of the world, all in that atmosphere of learning. Importantly, these extra 20,000 university places have been allocated to support students who are currently under-represented in our universities. These are students from poorer families, students from regional Australia—which would've been me 40 years ago—First Nations students, Australians with a disability, and students who are the first in their family to set foot in a university. These extra places have the potential to change people's lives, and I'm proud to be a part of a government that's helping to train the next generation of Australian workers to step up and take charge.

I'm also very proud to report that international students are on the way back. They're critical Australian assets; the biggest export that we don't dig out of the ground. It took a huge hit from COVID-19 for many years; this $40 billion export industry was cut in half. But international students have long played a significant role in our universities, and during the pandemic we really saw how the significant withdrawal of overseas students had such a negative impact on our university campuses—not just on their accounts but in so many other ways. Sadly, it wasn't helped by the fact that the international students who were living in Australia were told to 'go home' by the Morrison government. Remember those words? 'Go home.' Those words from the member for Cook did far more damage than his disastrous 'Where the bloody hell are you?' ad campaign from before he came into parliament. With those brutal words, the member for Cook turned our soft-power ambassadors into disgruntled agents and knockers.

The Albanese government is rebuilding our international education sector. We've broken the back of the visa backlog and announced an extension of work rights for students who get degrees in areas where we have a skills shortage, and thankfully the students are coming back. Data from the ABS shows that more than 59,000 came to Australia in January—more than double the number in the same period last year—and almost 143,000 returned in February for the start of the university semester. We introduced our start-up legislation that will help young Australian entrepreneurs to get help to bring their ideas to life by creating a 2,000 HELP-style loans each year. The new loans will enable eligible students to participate in that higher education based accelerator program—loans that will give eligible students critical support and access to the mentors and facilities that they need to start their new businesses in Australia.

Late last year the education minister announced the once-in-a-generation Universities Accord, which will build a long-term plan for Australia's higher education system and will be the first broad review of higher education since the Bradley review back in 2008. The Universities Accord is an opportunity to look at everything, from funding and access to affordability to transparency, regulation, employment conditions, and how higher and vocational education and training can and should work together.

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