Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Happy anniversary to the Prime Minister! It's two years since the Liberal Party tore down Malcolm Turnbull for the second time, although it turned out well for the former member for Wentworth. It's great to have him in the chamber here. What a great two years it's been. Mr Turnbull told us in his book that 'Scott is a control freak'. He's not a control freak, though, when it comes to aged care; not a control freak when it comes to holding the hose; not a control freak when it comes to stacking and racism in the Victorian Liberal Party. But he is a control freak when it comes to sports rorts funding; he is a control freak when it comes to helping Clive Palmer tear down the WA border; and he is a control freak when it comes to increasing the cost of university for hundreds of thousands of Australians. The university tax, the knowledge tax that Scott Morrison proudly puts as a centre piece of his higher education policy, will lead to a 7.3 per cent rise in fees for new students. It is a $470 million tax on Australia's university students, and it will lead to a drop in revenue for universities in Western Australia. The chancellor of the University of Western Australia says it will lead to a three to four per cent fall in revenue because of the knowledge tax. Even the chancellor of the Australian National University has raised concerns about this tax. Who is the chancellor of the Australian National University? It's Julie former deputy Liberal leader Bishop. This is a bad tax and it has to go.