Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate Senator Joyce, Senator Williams and Senator Nash on their, as always, eloquent and passionate contributions, particularly with respect to regional Australia. If there is a golden thread that combines the contributions of the opposition over the course of this debate today, it is not so much reliving the debates of the sixties, seventies or eighties; rather, it is that the nature of student life in 2009 is so very different from what it was in the sixties, seventies and eighties. Today’s students are older, they study part-time and they work. The student profile has changed enormously in the last 30 or 40 years.

I enjoyed playing cricket for the ANU when I was there. I was not very good, but I enjoyed it. But I no longer believe that it is appropriate that others subsidise my cricketing failures. I do not think anyone on the opposition believes that. So, while I enjoy the passion, as always, from Senator Joyce, Senator Williams and Senator Nash, the opposition cannot support this amendment.