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

My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. What is the government doing to ensure long-term economic growth by addressing the nation’s infrastructure backlog in the area of education, and what are the barriers to this reform?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moreton for his question. I know he is deeply interested in the education futures of the people in his electorate. The Rudd Labor government is committed—

An incident having occurred in the gallery—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are many things that come to mind based on that intervention, but I will let them go.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, the Rudd Labor government is committed to nation building. That is why in the May budget we created three nation-building funds, including the Education Investment Fund, and we committed at that time to providing a round of $304 million in funding in 2009 to assist universities with their capital expenditure. This was to be a transitional round from the old Higher Education Endowment Fund to the new $11 billion Education Investment Fund.

As the Prime Minister has said, in the face of the global financial crisis and its flow-through into the real economy, the government has taken decisive action and is also looking at fast-tracking infrastructure. In the spirit of fast-tracking, the government has been working with Mr Phillip Clark AM, who leads the Higher Education Endowment Fund advisory board and is leading the transition to the new Education Investment Fund, on processing the current applications from universities for this $304 million which is available.

Today I am pleased to announce that Senator Carr and I are inviting 14 universities to bring forward full applications for the 2009 funding, based on the recommendations of the advisory board headed by Phil Clark. This round focuses on strengthening research in Australian universities, and there is a wide variety of proposals that are in the 14 that are to be brought forward for full applications. The 14 proposals being brought forward for further consideration are worth nearly $700 million. The successful expressions of interest, for which universities will be asked to submit a full application, include a proposal from Macquarie University for a hearing hub, a proposal from Murdoch University for a new education facility, a proposal from the University of Ballarat for an innovation and enterprise centre, a proposal from the University of Canberra for an international microsimulation centre, a proposal from the University of Melbourne for an institute for infection and immunity, a proposal from the University of Queensland for a world-class veterinary science facility, a proposal from the University of Sydney for a centre for obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and a proposal from the University of Wollongong for a smart infrastructure facility. Each of the 14 proposals will shortly receive correspondence asking them to bring forward a full application for round 2. This additional investment comes on top of the half a billion dollars already made available to universities through the Better Universities Renewal Fund.

I am asked about any barriers or impediments to this new investment in Australian universities, and I regret to advise the House that we still do not know what the view of the opposition really is in relation to the government’s nation-building agenda, including the Education Investment Fund. On one day they are opposed to it, on another day they appear to be in support of it, but we have no reliable statements whether or not it is the intention of the Liberal opposition to block legislation setting up the Education Investment Fund, amongst others.

When it comes to delivering an education revolution, and that is what the government is committed to delivering, we are calling on the Liberal Party to get out of the way and allow the government to make a difference for Australian universities. We know that they are bearing a legacy of neglect after 12 long years where universities were treated with contempt by the Howard government. We are standing ready to make new investments in our universities. The one question we cannot answer is whether the Liberal Party will continue to treat Australian universities with the kind of contempt it treated them with for more than a decade.