Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ruston again for the question in relation to the scholarships. The reforms will require higher education institutions to spend one dollar in every $5 of additional revenue on Commonwealth scholarships to help disadvantaged students. It will be the largest scholarship support for students in Australian history and it can be used for fees or to cover living costs for students. For example, the University of Sydney has announced that with fees at less than half what those opposite have been saying, they will offer scholarships for a third of their undergraduates. This will increase the number of students with scholarships at the University of Sydney from 700 to 9,000—at one university alone and those opposite will not support it. They will not allow the students to win those scholarships. They will not allow students to get the sorts of opportunities that they think should be given to a privileged few who are now not all supported by the Commonwealth. That is their position and it will fail. (Time expired)