Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Let me just remind the Senate how important this debate is. Australia is a superpower in minerals, it is a superpower in agriculture and it is a superpower in higher education. We are the 12th largest economy on earth but we have the third strongest university system on earth. Indeed, more than that, we educate more students per head of population than any other country on earth. So often we hear about Australia being a great sporting nation—great at the Olympics; a nation full of sports people. The truth is: we do higher education and education generally even better than we do sport. You do not hear much about this, but it is a fact. We came 10th in the Olympics and we are the third-best at higher education on earth.