Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Higher Education and Research Reform Amendment Bill 2014. It gives me great pleasure to speak on this bill because education, particularly higher education, has transformed my life and has transformed my wife's life. Between us, we have five degrees. She was the first person in her family to ever go to university. We have both taught at a range of different universities on the east coast of Australia over many years, her law and myself business and strategy. I have been and remain on the council of one of the residential colleges at Sydney University that takes a large number of regional students and helps them to get a higher education at Sydney University. So I am deeply passionate about this issue; I know a lot about it and I care about it a great deal. I take great offence at the comments from those opposite about what we are seeking to do and what will be achieved through these reforms. In particular, I think the fundamental issue here is that those opposite do not understand what is happening in higher education.

Since 1986 I have been involved in this sector and I have seen extraordinary changes, so let me describe some of those changes. We now face ferocious global competition that those opposite do not understand. That competition is for students, particularly post graduate students. But, increasingly, undergraduate students are making choices about where they go to university between Australia and other countries in the world. For years we have been facing brain drain from our universities to global universities as students find the best place to do research and find the best place to teach. We are competing with universities around the world.

We face competition in our businesses. If we cannot attract and educate the best students here in Australia, we will fail. In this incredibly competitive global environment, we face competition which few of those opposite have ever had to deal with. We see that competition emerging very rapidly. China, for instance, if you go back only five years, had no universities in the top 200 in the world. They now have six. There are more students studying in China at universities, in higher education, than the whole of the Australian population. This is global competition in higher education in action.

There is a second major change I have seen in my time in universities—that is, how technology is transforming the sector. Many students now undertake their higher education using technology-intensive tools. We have heard in this chamber about how MOOCs are changing the nature of higher education. But, at a far more practical level, in regional Australia and in my electorate we see a large number of students watching lectures online using technology and doing tutorials through technology, which is changing the face of higher education. The notion that all degrees are going to go up in cost, when we are seeing these massive technological changes, is just absolute rot.

This reform bill is designed to help our universities to be competitive in this global environment and with these technological changes that we are seeing in the education sector. It has three key objectives: to increase access to quality higher education, to increase the diversity of courses offered and to contribute to repairing the budget and making sure that higher education is sustainable into the future. I think it is fair to say that in this chamber, on both sides of politics, there is some agreement that Australia's current higher education system does face challenges if we do not make reforms. This bill is about making important changes to strengthen that system.

As the member for Hume, with an electorate that spans from Picton and Wilton on the fringe of south-western Sydney, to Young and Cootamundra in the west, my comments on this reform bill focus on the benefits—the benefits—for rural and regional Australia. Regional Australia accounts for almost 40 per cent of our nation's population and the majority of our Indigenous population. However, young people aged from 15 to 24 who are from rural and regional Australia are almost half as likely to be attending university as young people from metropolitan areas. I saw that with my wife's family. She was, as I said earlier, the first in that family to go to university. She is from central western New South Wales.

In my electorate, higher education participation rates for young people aged 17 to 22 is about 16 per cent, this compares with 25 per cent in the ACT and as high as 45 per cent and 49 per cent in some capital city electorates. Clearly, there are barriers to regional and rural students accessing higher education. In 2009, the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee conducted an inquiry into rural and regional access to secondary and tertiary education opportunities. Submissions discussed some of these barriers.

The submission from Charles Sturt University—a university headquartered in Bathurst in central-western New South Wales, and operating campuses in inland New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria—noted that distance from a higher education institution does influence a young person's decision to attend university. I have seen that myself in my role at one of the residential colleges at Sydney university.

Charles Sturt University looked at the effect of the physical presence of a university campus in rural and regional areas on student participation, finding that the total number of students enrolled in a university increased with proximity. Participation also increased where the university offered a broad range of courses compared to a single course. Another study referenced in the Charles Sturt submission and titled, 'TAFE, university or work?' looked at the attitudes of high school students towards university, TAFE or work as post-school options. It found that student preferences for TAFE or work increased as their distance from major cities or university locations increased. Universities located in rural and regional areas have many benefits, such as bringing that knowledge economy to regional areas, providing educational opportunities for regional populations, providing opportunities for employment and so on.

Currently, only students studying bachelor-level courses at university are guaranteed access to government subsidies for their education. This reform bill extends this opportunity to students studying a wider range of courses at TAFE, at private universities and at private higher education institutions, and for students studying higher education diplomas, advanced diplomas and associate degrees. It is expected that the reforms will see more than 80,000 additional students each year accessing government subsidies for their education. Many of these students will come from rural and regional Australia and disadvantaged backgrounds. Students studying for jobs in child care, aged care, computer engineering and students studying qualifications that will lead them into university studies. There are clear opportunities for regional universities to expand into this area, offering these qualifications to local young people to develop their skills and retaining graduates in the community.

Tertiary education institutions, particularly those in regional areas, will also have new incentives and opportunities to work together to develop customised courses that produce graduates with the skills and knowledge required by local employers. Regional students will benefit from courses that enable them to study in more places and in more ways, including of course online.

The reform bill also provides for the deregulation of fees for Commonwealth supported students and removes the current maximum student contribution amounts. I have received a number of emails from concerned parents and grandparents about this measure, specifically about the potential for significant increases in course fees. I acknowledge these concerns; however, through the HELP loan scheme, no student will have to pay any money upfront for their course, and students are still able to defer the entire cost of their degree. And we know that technology will provide lower-cost options for tertiary education.

I am going to pause a moment and now quote a man we cannot quote often enough in this chamber—none other than the shadow assistant treasurer and member for Fraser.

Some of my colleagues have also alluded to his co-authored book, inspiringly named Imagining Australia: ideas for our future, published by Allen & Unwin in 2004, in which the member for Fraser lays out his vision for an Australia where universities are free to set student fees according to the market value of their degrees. With great pleasure, I quote directly from the text:

A deregulated or market-based HECS will make the student contribution system fairer because the fees students pay will more closely approximate the value they receive through future earnings.

He continues, 'Market based HECS will also help to improve our higher education system by making universities even more responsive to student needs and educational outcomes. Universities will have a strong incentive to compete on price and quality and meet the various requirements of the different segments of the student market.

We could not have said that more eloquently if we had tried. He joins the chorus of vice chancellors from universities, including Greg Craven today in The Australian, who echo those views.

Fee deregulation is also an opportunity for regional higher education institutions and the way they may choose to position themselves in the market. To attract students to regional campuses, some institutions may offer their courses at a lower cost than capital city counterparts. If towns and cities get behind this, we could see students choosing a regional location to study over a capital city location and this would significantly benefit regional economies—specifically employment and providing a strong rental market and services.

Linked to fee deregulation, the reform bill introduces a new Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including from regional Australia. I cannot say enough about how positive this scheme is. Higher education institutions with 500 or more equivalent full-time supported students will be required to allocate one dollar in every five of additional revenue to this scheme.

For many families in rural and regional areas, the strain on family finances to send a young person to study away from home is a huge challenge. This financial burden is significant, particularly when they are ineligible for Youth Allowance. Cost is often identified as a significant factor in the decision making of rural and regional students—whether to go to university and which university they attend.

The study I mentioned earlier, 'TAFE, university or work?', commented that rural students who need to leave home to attend university are particularly concerned about the additional costs of accommodation and living in a city. Charles Sturt University in its submission to the Senate inquiry noted that annual living costs for a rural and regional young person studying away from home is between $15,000 and $20,000, plus start-up costs of about $3,000 to $6,000. For many rural and regional students and their families, there is no choice but to pay those additional costs. This Scholarship Scheme will help with these costs. I can assure you that the residential colleges of the universities around Australia are looking at how they can make sure they use this effectively for the most disadvantaged rural and regional students. It will provide assistance with tuition, accommodation, travel and other living costs that are barriers to further study. It is a great initiative which will assist many. As I have mentioned, the key aspects of this legislation are about expanding opportunities for students, including the scholarship program that I talked about. In a world of growing international competition, we do not want Australian universities to get left behind.

I would like to make a few comments about the changes to the indexation of HELP loans. These changes are about ensuring the higher education system remains fair and equitable for all Australians, particularly for those who do not benefit from higher education and are being asked to make a contribution. I have many of those in my electorate and I have great sympathy with the fact that many of those people express the view that they should not be paying excessive amounts for students to go university and then go on to earn far more than they ever could.

In conclusion, I again quote the member for Fraser—one of our greatest allies:

Deregulating university fees will mean much needed additional funding will be available to universities that capitalise on their strengths and develop compelling educational offerings. The result will be a better funded, more dynamic and competitive education sector.

Hear, hear. We agree wholeheartedly with the shadow assistant Treasurer.

The reform bill before the House will ensure that government funding for education will continue to grow by around $5.7 billion over the next four years. This includes higher education and research funding that will grow by over $950 million over the same period, in contrast to the cuts the last government instituted which were roundly condemned by David Gonski, the architect of their secondary education reforms. The measures in this legislation will ensure that our higher education system is sustainable into the future. Our universities will be protected and they will continue to grow. They will continue to be competitive internationally in a tough international environment. I commend this bill to the House.

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