Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, 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 in response to the Bradley review of higher education and what has the higher education sector’s response been to these developments?

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

I thank the member for Ballarat for her question. I know that, when on budget night the government released the document Transforming Australia’s higher education system and announced its intention to invest $5.7 billion in higher education over the next four years, she would have been delighted to see that in her local community the University of Ballarat is receiving $40 million for its science and engineering precinct and that a further $18 million has been committed for a manufacturing technology training centre. That is part of making sure through the Education Investment Fund that we have the capital investment necessary to have the learning institutions for the future of this nation in a knowledge economy and a globalised economy. This side of the House understands that our future is in a globalised economy, something that from recent questions clearly the opposition is denying.

Those who care about education, those who care about our economic prosperity tomorrow, those who care about this nation making its way in a knowledge economy and those who care about every Australian child getting the best possible start in life have embraced this vision of higher education. If we go across the university sector, we see that Universities Australia has applauded the federal budget and this new vision for higher education. It said:

The government has acted responsibly and in the nation’s interest by increasing funding for teaching and learning with improved indexation from 2012, which will ensure teaching quality is maintained and enhanced.

The Group of Eight, in a media release entitled ‘Visionary road taken to university reform’, said:

The Government’s response to the Cutler and Bradley reports will work to widen the base of Australia’s higher education and strengthen university capacity research capability …

From the Australian Technology Network of Universities, we have had the following statement. It said the budget was:

… the most significant in a decade, providing the building blocks for long lasting reform of the sector and the creation of a world class university system.

The government believe in an education revolution. We believe in this nation taking its place in a knowledge economy. We believe in the building blocks of economic prosperity. On the other side of the House, one wonders. While those who care about education have been responding, we are still lacking any form of detailed policy response from the opposition to this transformation of Australia’s higher education system. There has been no policy statement released by the shadow minister; there has been no substantive policy response. He did whip out one media release, full of bark but no bite. But in that media release there was one policy statement that Australians should understand. The shadow minister, in his only policy statement that I am aware of on universities—potentially his only policy statement on education—said:

Last year the Government abolished all full fee places for Australian students—a private revenue stream for Universities that had been growing and providing economic security into the future …

The only policy statement that the shadow minister for education has made in response to this report is to endorse Australian students paying full fees for their education.

We know we are heading tonight to the opposition’s leader’s budget reply speech. We also know that if, in that speech, he does not name tonight a debt level or specify a savings target then he is going to drive a stake through the heart of his dishonest scare campaign about debt and deficits. It makes me wonder whether the complete eradication of university funding is on the savings list.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Deputy Prime Minister was asked a question about education. I know she would like to be the Treasurer but she cannot now stray into debt and deficit.

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

Order! The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. He is warned if he is going to abuse the opportunity of a point of order by coming to the dispatch box and debating. I am quite happy to invite him for points of order but I am not happy to invite him for debate.

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

My simple point is this: the shadow minister for education never says anything substantive about education. Australians deserve better from the Liberal Party than a shadow minister who has no care or concern for his portfolio.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

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

Order! The member for Sturt is reminded of his status. He is very close to out.

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

The opposition should outline a vision for Australian university education, if it has one. The only vision at the moment we have is one of complete privatisation. My simple point to the Leader of the Opposition is this: his dishonest scare campaign comes to an end tonight unless he can nominate savings targets to take the budget into the surplus he has talked about. Can he rule out that eradicating all public funding for universities is on that list? The only policy statement from his shadow minister is all about students paying the complete cost of their university education; there is nothing else.