13th Sep 2017, 6:25 PM – Representatives Higher Education Support Legislation Amendment (A More Sustainable, Responsive and Transparent Higher Education System) Bill 2017 - Second Reading - Disagree with bill

The majority voted against a motion that asked the House to disagree with the main idea of the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against a motion to "declin[e] to give the bill a second reading".

Motion text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"the House declines to give the bill a second reading because this bill:

(1) cuts university funding by nearly $4 billion;

(2) hits students with higher fees;

(3) saddles students with bigger debts which they will have to pay back at the same time as they are trying to buy a house or start a family;

(4) compromises teaching and learning, and undermines research; and

*(5) slashes investment in universities at a time when the Government should be investing in both universities and TAFEs in order to guarantee a strong and productive economy". *

What is the bill's main idea?

The bill makes changes to the way higher education funding works. For example, the bill proposes to:

• reduce Commonwealth funding of tuition costs for undergraduate courses at universities through increasing the student contribution towards these costs, and reducing the funding universities receive to cover these costs; and
• make changes so that those in the workforce will commence repayment at much lower income levels and at higher rates.

The bill also proposes to change arrangements for permanent residents and New Zealand citizens by:

extending access to HELP loans to students in this situation, but at the same time removing access to CSPs [Commonwealth Supported Places] ... [so they will] effectively be treated the same as domestic full-fee paying students.

Find out more about the bill in its bills digest.