George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Di Natale, it is the obligation of every generation to ensure that the next generation has better life chances than they did, and that is what this government have done. Senator Di Natale, you refer in particular to the higher education sector. One thing that any government, whether it be a coalition or a Labor government, must ensure that it does is maintain Australia's reputation for higher education. As you probably know, Senator Di Natale, at the moment, six Australian universities are ranked in the top 100 universities in the world. What that indicates is the strength of the Australian university sector. What we are doing is investing in that sector and making sure that beneficiaries of that sector make a fair contribution to it.

Senator Di Natale, contrary to what you have said in your question, we are asking students to make a modest increase in the contribution that they make to the education which they enjoy—the world-class education which they enjoy—while still, by the way, Senator Di Natale, subsidising their education by a factor of more than half from the income of taxpayers, who do not have the benefit that they do. You talk about social justice, as you often do, Senator Di Natale. I think it is just that the people who are the beneficiaries of a world-class tertiary education should make a substantial contribution to it. What the government has proposed, and what my friend Senator Simon Birmingham announced last week, is that we will be asking students next year to increase their contribution— (Time expired)