The SPEAKER ( Hon. Bronwyn Bishop ) took the chair at 12:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014
We in the Opposition are opposed to the graduate tax, but we will be supporting the higher education contribution scheme in this legislation, for several reasons. First, it is a Budget Bill and we respect the ability of an elected government in the House of Representatives to determine a Budget and its financial provision for higher education.
At stake is whether a viable higher education system can endure.
… could Australia increase the percentage of low-income students in tertiary education by making tertiary degrees free for all tertiary students? That was the social policy argument that dominated this space for decades. But the argument was also conducted for decades in an environment where the Australian tertiary sector existed in a global market that was relatively stable—comparatively, amazingly stable.
Does introducing deferred fees for students decrease the percentage of low-income students? No, it does not. Once introduced, does expanding the share of their fees that students are required to fund decrease the percentage of low-income students? No, it does not. Are fees the primary, or even a substantial, determinant of the percentage of low-income students? No, they are not.
The introduction into Parliament of the Federal Government's higher education legislation is a chance for all parliamentarians to seize the opportunity for making real, lasting changes that are needed in positioning our universities for the challenges of the future.
It is time for us to make choices about what we want for our country and what we want for future generations. Time to make choices about the future of our universities.
Currently our universities are at risk of being left behind and overtaken by the growing university systems in our region and across the globe as these systems increase their capacity and new forms of online and blended delivery take hold.
We must aspire to not only keep up with our competitors, but keep ahead of them.
A new era has begun as the New South Wales government is committed to ensuring the safety of the Londonderry community by providing our firefighters with the best equipment and resources.
…the Government has returned the budget to surplus three years ahead of schedule and ahead of any other major economy…
In relation to the current budget it is certainly necessary to get the deficit under control.
This is not a situation that we can continue to live with over the longer term. … Increasing debt risks crowding out private sector investment and negatively impacting economic growth.
We said we would remove the R&D tax concession for large companies with a $20 billion Australian turnover or more, to ensure innovation spending is directed to where we will have the biggest benefit … it's a down payment on the repair that the budget needs.
… why won’t you even back your own cuts?
Chris, we're the Labor Party.
That Mr Ruddock be discharged from the Selection Committee and that, in his place, Mr Nikolic be appointed a member of the committee.
Barnaby Joyce changed the record of an answer he provided on 20 October 2014 on the implementation of his drought package.
The Government’s attack on the wages and conditions of working Australians
If you don't want to work on a weekend, fair enough, don't work on a weekend, but if you do want to work on a weekend and lots of people, particularly young people, particularly students, would love to work on the weekend, you want to see the employers open to provide jobs ... there are lots of places that are now closed that used to be open.
I don't begrudge people the money … but in the end there's a balance …
Nonetheless, the Productivity Commission review is going ahead and the sacred cows are all on the list: penalty rates, minimum wages, unfair dismissal laws. Is there any room for restructuring any of those things in the dynamic economic environment that you're describing?
Linda, I'm always up for an evidence-based discussion.
There are particular provisions in each award or agreement that I think should be reviewed and I'm not suggesting for a moment that there aren't provisions including penalty rates that shouldn't be looked at.
Higher Education and Research Reform Bill 2014
Abbott also does not seem to think it necessary to even discuss policy proposals with his top ministers and other leading members of his conservative coalition. His lack of consultation has made it harder for him to pass some critical legislation. In addition, he appears to have one of the worst senses of public relations of any prime minister in recent Australian history.
The problem, as I see it, is that doubtful debt is a cost to the taxpayer but the universities are essentially controlling what that cost is going to be because the doubtful debt is a direct function of the loans that are outstanding and if the universities control what those fees are then … they will ultimately be controlling the levers that determine what that doubtful debt is and what the taxpayers pay. It is akin to a blank cheque being handed from the government to the universities on the matter of doubtful debt.
… the reforms are a 'ticking time bomb' that would price a medical degree out of the reach of kids from working Australian families, burden medical graduates with debt in excess of $250,000, discourage students from pursuing lower-remunerated medical specialties, and rob rural, regional, and outer-suburban communities of much-needed doctors.
It is important for the Government to recognise the Higher Education Reform will affect more than just students – there are detrimental follow-on effects for rural populations who already suffer from medical practitioner shortages.
… the university sector is not looking to introduce standard $100,000 degrees and deregulation won't deliver them.
… ACU does not anticipate a general and massive rise in University impositions on students.
In our view there have been wildly exaggerated claims by the opponents of deregulation about degrees costing more than $100,000.
In our view the market will not sustain such exaggerated degree prices, …
… it is vital that we keep tuition rates down …
… we are confident that for numerous courses, deregulation of fees will also lead to a significant decrease in the cost of tuition.
The 20 per cent cut will give the unis an immediate and pressing reason to use their new freedom to increase the fees they charge, and the less generous indexation will maintain the pressure for further increases.
In the tertiary education 'market', however, we have a relatively small number of large and larger organisations selling differentiated products of uncertain quality. We have oligopoly rather than 'perfect competition'.
On the basis of all this, my guess is the sandstone unis will raise their fees a long way and the less reputed unis won't be far behind them. Their notion of competition will be to make sure no-one imagines a lesser fee than the big boys is a sign of their lesser quality.
My grandfather suffered from black lung, which he caught during his years toiling in the coalmines of Kentucky … Sending his son to college meant that my father would never develop his same chronic cough and back pain. … Student debt means slower and higher unemployment … less money flowing through the business … less money to buy a home … fewer and fewer students attempting to gain a degree and fighting for the promise of a better future.
The money that would once have been reserved for academic salaries is spent on marketing, which eats up as much as 25 per cent of expenditure: the Apollo Group spent $1 billion on marketing and student recruitment in 2010. Education is neither here nor there: if that is the fastest way to generate profit then no one will worry if a quarter of the funds are drained away from teaching.
In April Willetts announced
that from 2012 students starting courses at private institutions will be able to take out government loans of £6000 per year. Worse still, in September public funding for teaching in the humanities and social sciences will cease in England. The fear is that the most lucrative courses will be cherry-picked by profit-driven institutions.
We have no intention of deregulating university fees. The government will not be introducing an American style higher education system. There will be no $100,000 university fees under this government.
It is time to change our one size fits all funding system and let diversity develop. Changes to the system will be controversial but real change is required if Australia is to offer its young people a real choice in education and produce graduates to match the best in the world.
In our view, there have been wildly exaggerated claims by the opponents of deregulation—
about degrees costing more than $100,000. In our view, the market will not sustain such exaggerated degree prices. It is vital that we keep tuition rates down.
… the university sector is not looking to introduce standard $100,000 degrees and deregulation won’t deliver them.
… universities have evolved into creative machines unlike any other that we have known in our history—cranking out information and discoveries in a society increasingly dependent on knowledge as the source for its growth.
We have universities that enrol large numbers of students, teach them as cheaply as possible, and then use the income to cover both education costs and meet the shortfall in research funding.
This is why our major research universities typically have student populations of more than 40,000 students. Compare that to Stanford with 15,000 students, Cambridge with 18,000, Tokyo with 28,000, ETH Zurich with 18,000 and the outstanding Caltech with only 2200 students.
Deregulation will enable universities to differentiate, to play to their strengths.
... Pyne has retained and extended Labor's great initiative: open university entry for every qualified person, under the demand-driven system. In real equity terms, it is much more important the kid from Panania gets their chance than the price of decorative arts-law at Sydney stays steady.
… in a scarcely remarked move, Pyne has moved decisively to protect students entering lowly paid but socially vital professions. Yes, public support for students will decrease overall, but the cut to nurses and teachers, for example, will be noticeably less, recognising their relatively limited earning opportunities, as well as the comparatively low cost of providing their degrees.
The changes in the reform package means $100,000 degrees are simply hyperbole.
May I ask that you bring to the House's attention the need for an end to the current intolerable state of uncertainty. Mindful of higher education's status as a major export earner for Australia, it is exceedingly difficult to think of a comparable industry that could endure and, indeed, remain globally competitive amid this level of legislative limbo.
No change would mean fewer opportunities for Australia's students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Staying still—or moving backwards—won't help. Deregulation of price and student numbers can deliver the change Australia needs.
Under such a system, students would be required to repay all or part of the support they received as a percentage of their income over a specified period of time—for example, 20 years or 25 years. If former students are struggling economically, no payment would be required until their earnings are sufficient to make payments.
That business intervening before order of the day No. 7, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day.
… it's hard to be literate and numerate without attending school; it's hard to find work without a basic education; and it's hard to live well without a job.
The past year has been characterised by uncertainty and upheaval for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island People.
Overall, this upheaval and lack of clarity is deeply worrying and is causing widespread uncertainty and stress, particularly amongst our communities.
The Australian Government revises its current position on targets as part of Closing the Gap, to include holistic justice targets aimed at promoting safer communities.
It is not credible to suggest that one of the wealthiest nations in the world cannot solve a health crisis affecting less than 3% of its citizens.
Today we promise to do better; we promise to do more …
The mortality rates reported in Australia for Aboriginal people are higher than those reported in New Zealand, Canada and the USA … Disparities exist in reported life expectancy … in the four countries. However, the highest disparity … has been reported in Australia … Infant mortality is also higher and the disparity greater …
… lower levels of access to health services than the general population, in some part due to residing further from health services and also as a result of socioeconomic status, availability of transport and ability to speak English …
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2014 Measures No. 7) Bill 2014
Excess Exploration Credit Tax Bill 2014
With lower commodity prices forecast in 2014-15, a rebound in exploration expenditure appears unlikely in the short term while minerals exploration has declined, exploration for petroleum increased.
… the rapid decline in oil prices may affect petroleum exploration expenditure over the remainder of 2014-15.
The slump in the price of iron ore and the significant increase in Australian supply have reduced the incentive to search for new deposits. Based on forecast lower prices in 2015, exploration expenditure for iron ore in Australia is not expected to rebound in the short term.
It costs the Government about $700 per year for each business I support. How much will it cost the Government when their business fails and they land back on Centrelink?
There are no small business advisory services now—
West of Brisbane, as far as the border. The nearest is at Coorparoo—
but it has to service all of SE Queensland.
You cant be "For Business" and ignore small business.
You cant be "For Jobs" and ignore small business.
You cant be "For Productivity" if you spend your resources where you have the fewest customers …