Jason Clare
Blaxland · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“I thank the member for Kooyong for her question and for her passion in this area of higher education. Like me—like all members of parliament, I think—she understands the power of education to change lives.”
“I've said work on fixing it is unfinished business, and I have said—and you all know—that the Australian Tertiary Education Commission has also pointed out the work they're doing on the cost of teaching and learning that they will finalise next year. They are the facts.”
“I thank my friend the big-hearted member for Blair for his question. As he knows, tomorrow, every Australian worker will get a tax cut and three million Australians will get a pay rise, and that includes hundreds of thousands of childcare workers right across the country.”
“It's good for the workers because they get paid more, but it's also good for parents because the centres have got to cap their fees to get the money. For the average family with a child in child care, it'll save them about $1,500 over the next two years.”
“The reforms also include the legislation that we passed through this parliament last year, which means that if you don't meet the standards, you can have your funding cut. That wasn't an idle threat. I can tell the House that we've now issued notices against 115 centres.”
“These are the schools that do a lot of the heavy lifting, that play an outsized role in educating the most disadvantaged children in this country, the children who are the most likely to start behind or fall behind. The children who need our help the most.”
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“It has been a big year in 2025, and I want to thank the people of my electorate of Blaxland for putting their trust in me again. It's the privilege of my life to represent our community in this place. I take the opportunity to thank them for their support, and, in particular, I thank the hundreds and hundreds of people who volunteered on my election campaign. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. In particular, I want to thank my team led by Korena Flanagan, Chris Zogopoulos and Christine Kalivitis for all of their help over almost 18 years now. In the case of Chris, it's even longer. I would not be here without you. This has been a year of wins. We've fixed the funding of public schools, cut student debt by 20 per cent and, in my local community after 12 months of hard work, we got Auburn Post Office back and reopened.”
“It explains why there are now 42 of them over there and why the seat that Tony Abbott once represented—or Malcolm Turnbull or Julie Bishop or Bronwyn Bishop or Brendan Nelson or Alexander Downer or even Sir Robert Menzies himself—are now located up there. Young Australians see them, and they see through them. They know that the Liberal Party no longer represents them and they also know this: it's this Labor government and this Labor Prime Minister who cut their debt by 20 per cent.”
“There is one reason that this has happened, and that's this man here. It's because of this Labor Prime Minister. It's because he promised it, because he fought for it and because he believes in it. It's because he believes that young Australians deserve a break and because millions and millions of Australians voted for it. As one very smart National Party MP—or potentially a former National Party MP—said, 'My kids are paying off a university debt and I reckon they voted Labor.' I bet they did. But, even now, there are still members of the Liberal Party who think this is a bad idea. On Monday, the member for Goldstein described celebrating this as 'despicable'. You've got to ask yourself: what sort of planet does this mob over here live on?”
“I thank my good friend the mighty member for Menzies for his question. In the wee small hours of this morning, between 3 am and 6 am, when I hope most of us were still tucked up in bed, something very big happened. One and a half million Australians had their student debt cut by 20 per cent—and, next Thursday, it's all going to happen again. Another 1½ million Australians will have their debt cut by 20 per cent. This is the biggest cut to student debt in Australian history. To give you an idea of just how big this is, for the average Aussie with a student debt, it means $5,500 off their back, off their debt. It's all automatic. You don't have to do a thing; just wait for the 'ding'. As the Prime Minister said, the text message will come next week. But it is also important to know why this has happened.”
“Let me give you an example. The University of Canberra has just announced that it will take a year off your degree if you've completed a diploma in the same area. This is for nursing, early education, graphic design, accounting and a few other areas. This saves you time—it saves you a year off your degree—but it also saves you money, on average about $6,000, off the cost of a degree. I want to see more examples of that, making it easier for people to get the skills and the qualifications that they want and that they need quicker and cheaper—a more joined up system—because we know that things work better when they are united, not divided. And if you want proof of that, just look over there!”
“But it is not the only thing we are delivering. Paid prac has now started—that is, financial support for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students while they do their practical training. Next year more people will study medicine than ever before. We announced with the health minister more places for people to become doctors than ever before. And next year 25,000 Australians will be able to do one of those free bridging courses to give them the skills that they need to get ready to start a university degree, more than ever before. Next year more Australians will also be able to start a uni degree than ever before To drive real long-term reform here today, I introduced legislation to create the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, and part of its job is to break down the barrier between TAFE and university.”
“I thank the marvellous new member for Moreton for her question. This is a special time of the year. Cricket is on the telly, even if it is for just two days. We have meat on the barbie, the sounds of cicadas and lawnmowers, kids opening presents, the sound of champagne corks popping and knives sharpening—and that is just over there in the Liberal Party! And this year there will be the sound of something else, the sound of millions of phones beeping with a message that your student debt has been cut by 20 per cent. Tomorrow 1½ million Australians will have their debt cut by 20 per cent, and, next week, another 1½ million Australians will have their debt cut, too. This will be the biggest cut to student debt in Australian history. We promised it, Australia voted for it and we are delivering it.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill is part of a package of two bills which together will establish the Australian Tertiary Education Commission. This bill makes consequential amendments necessary to implement the measures in the main bill, which I just introduced. Full details of the measures are contained in the explanatory memorandum. I commend this bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“To help build the sort of skills we are going to need over the next decade and the one after that. To help open the doors of opportunity wider than they are today. To help build a better and a fairer education system. And in doing that. A better and fairer country. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“The first Universities Commission was established in 1943 by the Curtin Labor government. Over the next four decades, that commission, and its successors, oversaw significant reform of our higher education system. It's important to remember that John Curtin may have started this, but Sir Robert Menzies continued it and in 1959 his government introduced the Australian Universities Commission Act which, for the first time, embedded the Commission under its own standalone legislation. This was a key moment in the history of higher education. Labor supported Menzies in this pursuit, with Doc Evatt declaring his 'enthusiastic support'. We have a similar opportunity in front of us now. To build the sort of foundations that set us up for the future.”
“I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the development of this important Bill. That includes university vice-chancellors, peak bodies including Universities Australia, state and territory ministers, my department and the Accord Implementation Advisory Committee. I also want to thank the Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, the Assistant Minister for International Education, Julian Hill, and my former colleague and great mate, the former minister for skills and training, the honourable Brendan O'Connor. I also want to especially thank the interim commissioners of the ATEC, Mary O'Kane, Larissa Behrendt and Barney Glover. They played a fundamental role in writing the accord, and now they are helping to lift those words off the page and bring them to life. This bill represents the next step in a long story of reform.”
“The ATEC will also be required to produce and publish a State of the Tertiary Education System report, every year, with the first report to cover the period starting 1 January 2026. This report will set out: current and emerging trends and issues, and system level changes needed to meet these challenges; progress on tertiary participation and attainment targets; the extent to which the higher education system is meeting Australia's current and future students, skills and knowledge demands; how well we are doing in breaking down the barriers between vocational education and higher education; and breaking down the systemic barriers faced by Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds. The ATEC will also publish a work plan and statement of its strategic priorities for the tertiary education system every two years, starting 1 January 2027.”
“This includes: the costs of teaching and learning in higher education and overall higher education funding amounts, including on a per student basis; student demand, skills demands, and the capability of the system's ability to meet Australia's workforce needs; the strategic direction, governance, size, and diversity of the higher education system, and the financial sustainability of higher education providers; this obviously includes not just universities, but other non-university higher education providers; ways to improve coordination and collaboration between the vocational and higher education systems; and how to improve access, participation and outcomes for people facing systemic barriers to education, including Indigenous Australians, Australians with disability, Australians from a low socio-economic background, and Australians living in the regions and in the bush.”
“The ATEC will have its own decision-making powers. It will take on responsibility for new mission-based compacts with individual universities, setting out the number of domestic and international students in line with the government's strategic direction. This will be set out in more detail in the legislation I will introduce next year. It will take over responsibility for the Higher Education Standards Framework from the current Higher Education Standards Panel and provide advice on it to the Minister for Education and the sector regulator. The Minister for Education and Minister for Skills and Training will also be able to request advice from the ATEC on a range of matters.”
“Its staff will be directed by the ATEC commissioners, governed by a service level agreement with the Department of Education. Its operations will be transparent. It will be required to consult. An independent review of the ATEC, its role, its functions and its operations is also built in after two years and after five years. And these reviews will be tabled in the House and in the Senate. It will be led by three commissioners—a full-time chief commissioner, a full-time First Nations commissioner, and a part-time commissioner. Collectively, they will be required to have expertise in higher education and vocational education. The First Nations commissioner must be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person with significant understanding of issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
“It is a national project and it needs a steward that is there for the long haul to craft compacts with individual universities; to help improve policy, administration and coordination of the sector; to get the sector to work more like a system; to get the vocational education system and higher education system to work more closely together, more joined up; to provide expert, independent advice; and to help drive real and lasting reform. That's what the ATEC is about. Like Jobs and Skills Australia, it will be independent. It will report directly to ministers. It will be guided by a ministerial statement of expectations. Key performance indicators will be established in consultation with the minister. It will publish its work plan. It will provide advice to government and publish reports. It will be able to undertake its own research.”
“It will be the job of the ATEC to help drive and steer both of these big reforms. And that brings me to what this bill is all about. Of all the recommendations in the accord this might be the most important. As someone said to me the other day, the ATEC is the accord. The accord is big. It is a blueprint for the next decade and the one after that. And it will take more than one minister and more than one government to make real.”
“Think about it as Gonski for universities. The school funding system provides schools with extra funding based on where they're located and the needs of the students they educate. Students who come from economically disadvantaged families receive additional support. So do schools in the regions and the bush. The universities accord recommends we do the same thing for universities. It means extra academic and other support services to help students make it through university. It's demand driven. The money follows the student. The more students a university has that meet the criteria the more funding it will receive. The more students there are at regional universities, the more funding those universities will receive as well. And it starts in January, in just a couple of weeks time.”
“As part of that over the next 12 months we'll implement and legislate two big changes to the way we fund universities. The first is what the accord calls 'demand driven equity'. We currently provide universities with a capped amount of funding for Australian students. The accord recommends that we uncap that for all students from disadvantaged backgrounds, like we've already done for Indigenous students. In other words, if you get the marks for the course you want to do, you'll get a place at university. This is all about breaking down that invisible barrier that the accord talks about, prizing open the doors of opportunity for more people from disadvantaged backgrounds. It starts in just over 12 months. The second big reform is needs based funding, funding to help these same students who get in, to get through.”
“That's about a four per cent increase on this year, and means more Australians will start a university degree next year than ever before. And even more will start a university degree the year after that. In 2027, we 'll allocate an extra 16,000 fully funded Commonwealth supported places and another 16,000 in 2028 and another 16,000 the year after that. In 2030, this increases to 19,000 additional fully funded Commonwealth supported places. All up, over the next decade we expect to fund an extra 200,000 commencing places at university. It means the number of Australian students in our universities will grow by about 27 per cent over the next 10 years. That's a big jump. Part of this also involves making sure all of these places become fully funded. And the ATEC will play a critical role in implementing it.”
“It is real cost-of-living help, when you need it most. It is another recommendation of the accord. It's also a recommendation of the architect of HECS, Professor Bruce Chapman, who said: This is the most important thing that's happened to the system in 35 years. It's a marginal collection, it's much gentler and much fairer than previously—we should have done it years ago. All of this is just the start. If we're going to hit that 80 per cent target in the accord we need more people to go to TAFE and more people to go university. That means we have to fund more places at university. And that starts next year. Next year we'll allocate 9,500 more commencing places to universities across the country than in 2025.”
“Tomorrow, 1½ million Australians will have their debt cut by 20 per cent. And another 1½ million will have their debt cut by 20 per cent next week. This is the biggest cut to student debt in Australian history. We promised it. Australians voted for it. And now it's happening. We have also made major structural changes to the way the student debt repayment system works. The way the system used to work was the amount you repaid every year was based on your entire earnings. Once you earned above the minimum threshold you paid a percentage of your entire wage as a repayment. That has now changed. Now, you only pay a percentage of your wage above the minimum repayment threshold. What that means in practice is if you earn $70,000 a year you now have to repay about $1,300 a year less than you used to.”
“This includes a set of principles that we will put into law and require universities to report annually on on an 'if not, why not?' basis. On the recommendations of the current Senate inquiry into university governance, we will also get the Remuneration Tribunal to help set salaries for vice-chancellors and require universities to publish decisions of council meetings, spending on consultants, vice-chancellors' external roles and any conflicts of interest. We are also making major changes to reduce student debt. Last year we capped the indexation of student debt to the lower of the consumer price index and the wage price index. This wiped $3 billion off student debt. This week and next week we will wipe a further $16 billion off student debt, cutting student debt by 20 per cent.”
“This means if you are an Indigenous student and you get the marks for the course you want to do, you will now get a place at university. It's already having an impact. Last year the number of Indigenous students starting a degree increased by five per cent. This year it increased by a further three per cent. The Department of Education estimates that over the next decade this could double the number of Indigenous students at university. We have also introduced a National Student Ombudsman that started work this year and a National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence that starts on 1 January and will give the ombudsman's recommendations real teeth. This year we also established the Expert Council on University Governance, and it delivered its final report a few weeks ago.”
“Over the last three years, we have announced more than 350 new commencing medical places. We have also announced eight new medical schools. When fully rolled out, it will mean we are supporting around 1,790 more medical students studying each year. We have also scrapped the 50 per cent pass rule. This was an unfair rule that significantly and disproportionately affected Indigenous students, students from poor families and students from the regions and the bush. We have also reformed student services and amenities fees, setting a minimum amount of 40 per cent to be provided to student led organisations. We have also introduced a demand-driven system for Indigenous students, wherever they live. Previously this was only available for Indigenous students living in regional and remote Australia.”
“This is financial support for teaching students, nursing students, midwifery students and social work students while they do the practical training that's part of their degree. It's means tested and it's targeted at people who need it the most. So far more than 67,000 students have applied for paid prac. More than 80 per cent of those applications have been processed, and more than 80 per cent of those have been approved. The accord also recommended we allocate more medical Commonwealth supported places to address the shortage of doctors in our community, and we are doing that too. Next year, we'll train more doctors than ever before. Earlier this week the minister for health and I announced more medical places to train more doctors at 10 universities across the country.”
“It includes more than doubling the number of university study hubs in the regions, in the bush and now, for the first time ever, in our outer suburbs. These are places that bring university closer to where a lot of people live. They are about breaking down that invisible barrier. Most of them are now open, and the rest will open in the next few months. We're also increasing funding for the bridging courses that help prepare you to start a university degree. They are like a bridge between school and uni. Over the next 10 years we will invest an extra $1 billion to help tens of thousands of Australians do one of these courses for free. We have also introduced paid prac.”
“The accord peels away any misconception that it's okay if young people from poor families don't make it to university, because they make it to TAFE. What it shows is that 87 per cent of young people from wealthy families have either a TAFE qualification or a uni degree, but only 59 per cent of young people from poor families do. In other words, more than 40 per cent of young people from poor families don't have the sorts of qualifications that so many people are going to need in the years ahead. We have now implemented every recommendation of the accord's interim report and we have started work on implementing the final report. In last year's budget we bit off a big chunk of it—31 out of 47 recommendations in full or in part. Let me remind the House of what some of those are.”
“And what the accord says is the only way this will happen is if we break down two big barriers. The first of those is the artificial barrier we've created and built up between the vocational education system and the higher education system, and replace it with a system that's more joined up. The second is the invisible barrier that stops too many young people from poor families, from our outer suburbs, from the regions and from the bush from getting to university at all. To give you an idea of what the accord is talking about, 69 per cent of young Australians from wealthy families have a university degree today, but only 19 per cent from very poor families do. And this isn't just a barrier to university.”
“Jenny Macklin, the former Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Minister for Disability Reform; and Ms Shemara Wikramanayake, Chief Executive Officer at Macquarie Group and a member of the former government's University Research Commercialisation Expert Panel. I asked them to look at seven priority areas: I released their final report in February last year. In short, what it says is that, in the years ahead, more jobs are going to require more skills. What it says is that 60 per cent of Australians working today have a certificate, a diploma or a degree, and that by 2050 that will increase to about 80 per cent. That's a big jump. It means more people at TAFE, more people at university and more people doing a bit of both.”
“Three years ago I appointed six eminent Australians to develop a blueprint for how we reform our higher education system: Professor Mary O'Kane as chair, a former chief scientist and engineer of New South Wales, and a former vice-chancellor of the University of Adelaide; Professor Barney Glover, who is now the commissioner of Jobs and Skills Australia and was then the vice-chancellor and president of Western Sydney University; Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt, Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney; the Hon. Fiona Nash, the Australian Regional Education Commissioner and former Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Regional Communications; the Hon.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This is a bill to establish the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, the ATEC. It's a key recommendation of the Australian Universities Accord. Before I set out the details of the bill, let me remind the House what the universities accord is about.”
“Next year, we'll start the work of reforming the national curriculum, starting with the first three years of maths to make sure we get the basics right: addition, subtraction, multiplication and something the Liberal Party can help us out with—division. Next year, something else as well—education ministers have agreed to a reform that was talked about for a long time but never happened, and that's bringing together the bodies that are responsible for national testing, the national curriculum and national standards, as well as national research, under one roof to create an Australian teaching and learning commission. That's what delivery looks like, and that is what division looks like—no joy, just division. The Australian people know it, and they also know this—we're cutting student debt by 20 per cent.”
“This year, we signed agreements with every state and territory to fix the funding of our public schools, which is something that no Australian government has ever done before, and it is not a blank cheque. It's tied to reform—the sort of reform that we know works. The reading wars are over. We know what works to teach children to read. We also know that waiting until a child is eight is too late to make sure we know whether they can read, write or count. That's why early intervention is important. That's why we're rolling out phonics checks and numeracy checks in year 1—to identify children who are falling behind—as well as more small-group tutoring, to provide support for children to catch up. Next year, something else will happen.”
“I thank my great friend the member for Leichhardt for his question. I'm really glad that he asked me this question, because I'm about 20 per cent shorter than he is and in a couple of days student debt will be 20 per cent smaller as well. I'm five-foot-nine; he's six-foot-11. The Liberal Party are at sixes and sevens. The kids in the gallery know what I'm talking about! And, in a couple of days time, $16 billion of student debt is going to come off the shoulders of millions of young Australians. In just two days time, 1½ million Australians will have their student debt cut by 20 per cent. And next week, another 1½ million Australians will have their debt cut by 20 per cent as well. It's the biggest cut to student debt in Australian history. We promised it and we're delivering it. But it's not the only thing that we're delivering.”
“We're funding an extra 9½ thousand places next year and an extra 16,000 places the year after that—and the year after that and the year after that. The number of Australians at uni will jump by 27 per cent over the next 10 years, to help build the sort of workforce that we're going to need: more doctors, more nurses, more teachers, more engineers and lots more. A lot of those young people will be from poor families and from our outer suburbs, from our regions and from the bush. That's what the reforms that we're implementing are all about. It's what the Prime Minister calls opening the 'doors of opportunity' for more Australians, building a country where your chances in life don't depend on how wealthy your parents are, where you grew up, what school you went to or the colour of your skin.”
“We promised it, Australia voted for it and now we're delivering it. And the Liberal Party, remember, are still opposed to it. In fact, they hate it. Today, earlier in parliament, the member for Goldstein described this as one of the most despicable things that he has ever seen a Labor government do. I think I know three million Australians—and their mums and dads, and their grandparents—who might disagree with him. But it's not the only thing that we're doing. Next year, we'll train more doctors than ever before. Today, the Minister for Health and Ageing and I are announcing more medical places to train more doctors at 10 universities across the country. Next year, more Australians will also start a university degree than ever before.”
“I thank my friend the member for Forde for his question—and that handsome mo he's growing there and all the work he's doing to promote Movember! On the weekend, 100,000 Australians had their student debt cut by 20 per cent, and that is just the start, because, this Thursday, 1½ million more Australians will get their student debt cut by 20 per cent. Next week, another 1½ million young Australians will get their student debt cut by 20 per cent. You don't need to do a thing; just wait for the ding, wait for the text message, wait for the email that you will get from the office to tell you that it's done. This is the biggest cut to student debt in Australian history. The average Australian with a student debt will see it cut by about $5½ thousand. That's a lot of money that's going to help a lot of Australians.”
“So far, more than 65,000 Australians have applied to get it. I can also advise the House that next year two new end-to-end medical schools will open up to train more doctors, one in the north, in Darwin, and one in the south, in Launceston. Next week, I'll open two more university study hubs, one on the west coast, in Northam, and one on the east coast, in Beenleigh. This Friday, I'll be in Smart Street in the heart of Fairfield, in the heart of Western Sydney, with the member for McMahon, opening the university study hub that the member for Fowler asked me about just last week, bringing university closer to where people live. This is what delivery looks like, and this is what we are focused on: cutting student debt by 20 per cent, paid prac for teaching and nursing students, and more university study hubs in the bush and in the suburbs.”
“Young people don't always see something for them on the ballot paper when there's an election, but they did this year, and they voted for it in their millions. And now they're about to get it and to see it and to feel it and to hear it. They'll get a ding on their phone, an email or a text message, to tell them that their debt has been cut by 20 per cent. When that happens, there'll be one person that they can thank for it, and that's this Prime Minister. I'm asked by the member for Macnamara what else we are doing to build a better and a fairer education system. I can advise the House that paid prac has now started. That's financial help for teaching students, nursing students, midwifery students and social work students while they do their practical training. That's real cost-of-living help.”
“Can I thank, again, my friend the member for Macnamara for his question. Well, the race that stops the nation has been run and won, and there are a few lucky winners across the country. But, in the next few weeks, there won't just be a few winners; there'll be millions of them. That's because we're cutting student debt by 20 per cent. We're now in the home straight. A year ago, the Prime Minister announced it. Six months ago, Australia backed it. Three months ago, we passed it. In just a couple of weeks time, Australians will get it. Millions of Australians will get their student debt cut by 20 per cent. Millions will get their debt cut by thousands of dollars—on average, about $5½ thousand.”
“Two weeks ago, education ministers met and agreed to bring forward work on the national curriculum, starting with the first three years of maths. If you get maths, it helps to set you up for success. It's critical for work and for life, and it's really important to get the basics at school, early. If you don't get the basics right in the first few years of school, you can't build on it. Learning maths is cumulative. You learn it step by step, and that's why we have to get the first three years right. A number of principals and teachers have told us that they think the current maths curriculum here is too complex, and others have told us that teachers need more support to implement it, with clearer advice about what to teach in what order. That is why we'll start here.”
“The member for Deakin asked me about this, but he also asked me what else we're doing to build a better and fairer education system. This year, we signed agreements with every state and territory to fix the funding of our public schools, to put them on a path to full and fair funding—something that no government has ever done. It is the biggest new investment in public schools by an Australian government ever. And it's not a blank cheque; it's tied to real reforms, practical reforms that we know work—things like explicit teaching, as well as phonics checks and numeracy checks when kids are little, in year 1, to identify the children who are behind and need more help; and small-group tutoring or catch-up tutoring to help the same children to catch up. Two weeks ago, we took the next step.”
“Can I thank my friend the member for Deakin for this question. As a former schoolteacher, he understands better than most of us the power of education to change lives. At the election, we promised to cut student debt by 20 per cent. The Australian people voted for it, we've passed legislation now to make it happen, and the tax office is working on this right now. In a few weeks time, this will all begin. Phones will start beeping; you'll get a text message or an email telling you that your student debt has been cut by 20 per cent. Millions of Australians will get this message, and all of that beeping and dinging of phones will be the sound of $16 billion coming off the shoulders of young Australians. Millions of Aussies will save thousands of dollars—on average, about $5½ thousand, changing lives.”
“All this is going to help a lot of young Australians—just out of TAFE, just out of uni, just out of home, just getting started. It's why they voted for it in their millions. As one National Party MP told the Daily Telegraph a few months ago, 'My kids are paying off a university debt, and I reckon they voted Labor.' They voted Labor, but there are still a lot opposite who think that this is 'grossly unfair'—”
“It will start in the middle of November. More debts will be cut in December, and by Christmas most of the three million Australians who have a HECS debt will have it cut by 20 per cent. That's a time of year when a bit of good news goes a long way. And there is one person in this place that they can thank for that, and that is this prime minister. He's not Santa Claus, but he's delivering—big time—for three million Australians. The average cut is about $5½ thousand. And it's not the only thing we're doing. We're also cutting the amount of HECS that you have to repay every year. If you earn about 70 grand a year, we have reduced the amount you have to repay every year by about $1,300. That's about a hundred bucks a month. That's real cost-of-living help, and it's already started; it started a couple of weeks ago.”
“I thank my friend the magnificent member for Macnamara for his question. I know his mum and dad, Leanne and Phil, are up there in the gallery today, and they must be so very proud of him, as we all are. My mum and dad, Pam and Bob, are up there too. I'm not sure if they're just as proud! On 3 May Australians made their voices heard. They voted for tax cuts, they voted for free TAFE, they voted for us to build more homes, they voted for us to roll out more urgent care clinics, they voted for cheaper medicine, they voted for us to freeze the excise on beer, and they voted for this: to cut student debt by 20 per cent. They voted for it, and in just over a month they'll start to see it and to feel it. As I told the House the other day, next month the tax office will start to cut HECS debts right across the country.”
“Getting a better understanding of the reasonable costs to deliver early childhood education and care services around the country will help us to deliver evidence based reforms. The bill also makes three further changes in early education and care. It expands the ability to use and disclose protected information, strengthening data governance and supporting transparency and ensuring continuity in reporting. The bill also aligns the date of effect of childcare subsidy reconciliation decisions with the date they take effect in the childcare subsidy system and in line with policy intent. This fixes inconsistencies that have been an issue since 2018, leading to over- and underpayments. Conclusion In conclusion, this bill: All important and necessary reforms, and I commend them to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“We're committed to building a universal early childhood education and care system that is safe and affordable and accessible for every family. To do that we need a better understanding of the costs of delivering early education and care. And this bill will help us to do that. In MYEFO last year we committed $10.4 million over two years for the Early Education Service Delivery Prices project. This bill gives that project the legislative support that it needs. It amends the family assistance administration act to allow the secretary of my department to compel providers that are constitutional corporations—if necessary—to provide cost related data. Data will be sought voluntarily in the first instance. But this power is important to help ensure that information is accurate, comprehensive and representative.”
“This is an important reform that will help to increase the number of Indigenous doctors in Australia. Last year we uncapped funding for all Indigenous students enrolling in non-medical bachelor degrees at a public university. This has already had a positive impact. Last year the number of Indigenous students enrolled in a university course increased by five per cent. This year it increased by a further three per cent. Next year we will take the next step and expand this demand-driven system to all Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds. Early childhood education and care measures The third part of this bill strengthens integrity and transparency in early childhood education and care. Every year the Australian government invests more than $16 billion in the Childcare subsidy.”