House debates Questions without Notice
University Fees
Amanda Rishworth Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health
2:50 pm
My question is to the Minister for Education. Last year, the minister said the government was not considering increases to university fees, because:
… we promised that we wouldn’t and Tony Abbott made it very clear before the election that we would keep our promises.
Is doubling university fees and threatening a cut to university funding what the minister meant by 'a government that keeps its promises'?
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
I am delighted to get a question from the shadow minister for tertiary education. I think it is the first question the member for Kingston has asked me, and it is the first question that the opposition has asked me about higher education since the last election. It gives me the opportunity to point out that the facts as presented by the member for Kingston are quite wrong. The government is not increasing fees for students at universities. We are proposing the largest reform to universities in 40 years, which will allow some course fees in many subjects to come down, and it will be universities that make their decisions about fees, because that is what deregulation means.
Mr Watts interjecting—
Mr Conroy interjecting—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Charlton and the member for Gellibrand will desist!
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
This question also gives me the opportunity to point out that the Labor Party is the party that proposed $6.5 billion of cuts to higher education in the six short years it was in government—$6.6552 billion. I table the list, the table of cuts to universities that the Labor Party proposed, when it was in government, without any other capacity for universities to raise—
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question was about doubling university fees and threatening to cut university budgets.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
No, there is no point of order. The member will resume his seat. I have informed members before that when you raise a point of order on relevance, it is not an invitation to repeat the question. It is totally out of order and the member knows that.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
I thank you for your protection, Madam Speaker. It also gives me the opportunity to call on the opposition to give a Gonski. I want my local MP to give a Gonski on higher education.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
No props? I will table the poster that says: 'I want my local MP to give a Gonski on higher education.'
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. On a day when opposition member after opposition member gets thrown out, how does he get away with holding that sign up?
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance
Madam Speaker, I would like to conclude my point of order.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
I have listened to it and there was no point of order. Resume your seat.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
This wide-ranging question also gives me the opportunity to comment more broadly on the issue of universities and fees and free education. I would point the member for Kingston to one of her former party leaders, Bob Hawke, in Collective Wisdom, where he says: 'One of the greatest stupidities was the proposition the Whitlam Labor government introduced of so-called free education.
Ms Plibersek interjecting—
Mr Dreyfus interjecting—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Sydney will desist and so will the member for Isaacs.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
There is no such thing as free education. It is a question of who pays and how it is paid for.
Ms Plibersek interjecting—
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
The reforms to universities that we are proposing will lift the contribution that students make to their education, from 40 per cent to 50 per cent. It will be a fifty-fifty split with the taxpayer. Right now the taxpayer is paying 60 per cent and this proposal will lift the student's contribution to fifty-fifty.
Ms Plibersek interjecting—
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
I think that is fair. Bob Hawke obviously thinks it is fair, because he recognised there was no such thing as free education. Paul Keating recognised that as fair, because he was part of the government that introduced the HECS-HELP scheme. That was when the Labor Party was led by gigantic figures—not the Lilliputian leader we have at the moment.