Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I'd like to give six reasons why the Liberals' uni cuts and fee hikes are absolute trash and should go straight in the bin. They're absolute trash and they will hurt unis and students, particularly in regional Australia.

Many students will pay more, and some much more than others. That's No. 1. On average, students will pay seven per cent more for their studies, and around 40 per cent of students will have their fees increased, some by 113 per cent. They'll pay 93 per cent of the cost of their course; more money for uni fees. Students studying law, accounting, administration, economics, commerce, communications and the humanities will pay more for their degrees than people doing medicine and dentistry degrees. There is definitely an ideology behind which courses are getting a fee hike; that we know.

Reason No. 2: universities will get less to do more. Universities will be given less money by this government and be required to do more work. The university sector will face a cut in its guaranteed funding of around $1 billion a year and average funding per student will drop by 5.8 per cent—5.8 per cent per student.

Reason No. 3: this won't even work. The policy assumptions behind this policy are flawed. Experts are convinced that student choice will not be swayed by price signals. The government trying to usher people into certain degrees by making some more expensive isn't actually going to work. The pricing model used by the government to calculate the average university teaching cost is weak and the authors of the research said that they would caution against using it for funding because of multiple methodological reasons. The government's demand for modelling is based on labour force marketing forecasting done prior to COVID; they haven't even sat down and had a look at how COVID is affecting the labour market to be able to make these policy decisions.

Reason No. 4: the Liberals policy will do the opposite of what it is actually claiming to do. Humanities graduates are just as in demand in the labour market as maths and science graduates, but the cost of humanities degrees is going to double. We are going to punish those students. We are going to tell students who want to go to university and study humanities that there is no place for them unless you are willing to pay a lot of money.

A Deloitte report called The path to prosperity: why the future of work is human said:

Today’s jobs are increasingly likely to require the cognitive skills of the head

Putting it another way, they also said:

… something new is also happening: Jobs increasingly need us to use our hearts …

There is no reason why we should be punishing humanities students. We need humanities students. But this government is punishing them by raising the fees of their university degrees.

Reason No. 5: the worst impact of this new legislation that the government is introducing will impact regional universities. Under this package, nearly twice as many regional and remote students will have to pay the highest rate of student fees. So much for standing up for the regions in the middle of an economic crisis! So much for supporting students from the bush! Regional universities deliver a greater proportion of courses that will have funding cut than non-regional universities. This government doesn't care about kids from the bush. It doesn't care about giving them a go if they want to go to university. They are making it harder for kids from the bush to go to university.

Finally, the real clincher, the one that seals the deal on this legislation and means that it definitely should go in the bin: while the Liberals are punishing Aussie kids, students will lose access to government support if they fail more than half of the subjects they are enrolled in in the first year. This could create an incentive for universities to lower standards so that fewer students fail. The first year of university, especially if you live in regional Australia, is tough. It's a hard year. It's a transition year. It's not easy for everyone. You do your first course, and maybe that is not the course for you. But are we going to punish kids for having a go? Or are we going to give them a go, as Scott Morrison always says? This Liberal government says: 'If you can't get it right the first time, see you later! We're not even going to give you a chance to go to university if you can't get it right the first time.'

This policy is absolutely garbage. It belongs in the trash. Put it in the bin. Students in regional universities deserve much better.

That brings me to the other topic I wanted to talk about tonight. In regional areas, we are a tight-knit bunch. Tonight I want to share a story about a Cairns family man and a staunch trade unionist John Lee. John's health is not that good right now. He is having a bit of a tough time, but I wanted to share his story with the Senate tonight. John's love of tug boats was sparked when he started working between Brisbane and Gladstone. He went on to work as a delegate for the Maritime Union of Australia in Mackay, before moving to Cairns and going into semi-retirement a few years ago. On the sea, John has always felt at home. John's most remarkable claim to fame goes back to 2014 when he formed part of a specialist crew on board the ocean field vessel to find the fallen MH370 aircraft black box. John is a father, a grandfather and a beloved friend to those who know him. He is loyal to a fault, a man of principle and a talented storyteller. Those who know him say they can't speak highly enough of him. They are better off because they know John.

The thing about John is he always tells 10 per cent of the story to all his mates, so between us we all get the full story in the end. John is humble like that, and is never one to blow his own trumpet. John understands Labor's values and the importance of the union movement. He always listens to advice from unions in the interests of his family. John is particularly passionate about superannuation, and contributions towards his retirement savings from day one have secured the future of his family. This has brought him happiness at a time when thousands of people are losing their jobs and facing an incredibly uncertain future. John has his quirks, and his taste for VB is certainly one of them—particularly being a Queenslander! But if there is one thing that John is famous for, it is his chant of 'giddyup, comrade' at the end of every phone call. John, you have been an inspiration to your loved ones, your friends, your work colleagues, and I wish you and your family all the best.