Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

from the current sixty-forty arrangements to fifty-fifty, which we think is a fair and reasonable contribution for students to make. I would like to read a letter I received from Graeme Mitchell, a graduate of the University of Western Sydney. It very much encapsulates exactly what the government is trying to achieve through our higher education reforms: 'My father died in my second-last year at high school. I lost all interest in education and bombed out. My then deputy principal told me and several colleagues we were dills and would never amount to much. I had to get a job to help support my family. My dad's death, my deputy principal's expressed opinion of me and the dead-end job I was obliged to take did nothing for my self-worth. I drifted from one dead-end job to another. In my 40s I became aware of HECS and applied for uni entry as a mature-age student, not thinking for a moment that I would make it, but I did. I graduated second in my course, in the top one per cent of all faculties, and won several outstanding-student awards. My academic achievement gave my self-worth an enormous boost. My degree got me a much better job and income, and I had the satisfaction of paying something back to the society that had supported me through uni. My HECS contribution was a pittance compared to my post-degree income.'

Graeme writes: 'My advice to uni students is to accept the generous contribution taxpayers make to your education and not look at HECS as a government imposed tax but look at the satisfaction—

Mr Snowdon interjecting—

Ms Owens interjecting—

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

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