Trish Draper (Makin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Education, Science and Training. Would the minister inform the House how the government is providing increased opportunities for Australian school leavers to attend universities?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Makin for her question and I acknowledge her deep interest in opportunities for school leavers in her electorate. I am very pleased to be able to report to the House that the latest data in relation to main round offers for school leavers of university places has increased across the nation by 4.4 per cent over last year. Across the nation states vary, but some of the stand-out increases in offers for university places for school leavers include seven per cent in Western Australia; over 8½ per cent in Queensland; and, the honourable member will be delighted to know, over 10½ per cent in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

In this year alone there are an additional 18,500 Commonwealth supported places in the higher education sector. That will rise to some 39,000 places by 2009. These places are all part of the Howard government’s Backing Australia’s Future reform initiative that will see an additional $11 billion invested in the higher education sector over the next decade.

In coming to this portfolio I must say that I just cannot understand how the Labor opposition voted against the Backing Australia’s Future program. They voted against it, essentially saying to students, ‘You shouldn’t have access to $400 million in scholarships,’ saying to universities, ‘You shouldn’t have access to an extra $354 million to reward learning and teaching excellence,’ and saying to regional universities, ‘You shouldn’t have access to an extra $145 million.’ The Howard government is committed to the future of school leavers by providing more Commonwealth supported university places, more training and apprenticeship opportunities and more employment opportunities.