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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-09-24 Daily Xml
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TORRENS UNIVERSITY AUSTRALIA BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 12 September 2013.)

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (17:05): I rise on behalf of the Greens to put forward our position on the bill before us, the Torrens University Australia Bill 2013. This bill provides for an act to establish a new university in Adelaide, Torrens University Australia, although I understand from the briefing provided by the minister's officers that there is, indeed, no legislative requirement for Torrens University Australia to have its own act. That is my first question of government: can it confirm that there is no need for this act?

I note that all three established public universities in Adelaide have their own act and I understand that Torrens University is keen to be seen as equal with those institutions, but there is a difference here in that Torrens University is a privately owned and operated US-based institution under the umbrella of Laureate Universities Inc. Tertiary education, of course, as many members are aware, usually falls under federal jurisdiction and not state jurisdiction. Certainly, by virtue of the historical facts, we usually have acts that have established our state public universities, but we are in an interesting position here.

I note that this bill was introduced by minister Portolesi (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills) on 7 July with scant detail as to what this act would do once it is law. The minister did not, in my opinion, make a second reading explanation. A mere few words and a commendation of the bill to that house was done with a lack of detail that I think most South Australians would not expect of a minister introducing a bill for an act for what I believe is quite an important institution.

I thank the minister, however, for her officers' briefings, in particular, Michaela Schiru and Caroline Battye. I particularly thank the Vice-Chancellor and President of Torrens University Australia, Professor Fred McDougall, who provided a much more comprehensive briefing than had been presented to the parliament or, indeed, provided by the minister. I thank the minister's office for providing written responses to questions raised by my staff and me with regard to international students' tuition assistance and ombudsman conditions.

I ask, however, that the government provide some clarity as to what ombudsman provisions will exist for Torrens University Australia. I have been given conflicting information by the vice-chancellor of the university and the government. If the government could clarify what they believe to be the provisions for an ombudsman, that would be helpful from the Greens' perspective to ensuring support for this bill. I also note that I have had consultations with the NTEU and others within the university sector.

Overall, Torrens University Australia is part of Laureate Education Inc., as I stated earlier. It is part of a global higher education group, and I understand it received conditional approval from the government of South Australia to establish its new university in Adelaide on 17 October 2011. I ask the government what those conditions were.

I also note that the transfer of responsibility for universities from state governments to the commonwealth in January 2012 immediately created some key problems for Torrens University Australia in the sense that TEQSA did not recognise greenfield start-up universities. TEQSA is the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency and is Australia's independent national regulator of the higher education sector.

As a consequence, registration of this new university was delayed until 24 July 2012. I ask the government to provide information to this council regarding the conditions under which Torrens University Australia was established. There have been media reports that there is a total of $30 million in payments associated with this bill's passage and the establishment of the university. I understand, from a briefing with the vice-chancellor, that $10 million has been paid by Torrens University or Laureate International to the Rann/Weatherill government.

I understand that, while it had been publicised that South Australia was to receive an additional $10 million on the enrolment of the first student and then another $10 million on the enrolment of the 500th student, these conditions no longer apply. I ask the government's representative to provide information on why this money will no longer be coming to South Australia and why these conditions no longer apply and whether or not there was some transferability of those payments to a federal body or whether the university is now no longer required to make those substantial contributions.

Laureate is indeed a fine institution. Across the world it has a total of 780,000 students in 30 or so countries. It has over 150 campuses and a global workforce approaching 70,000. It continues to grow rapidly with a particular emphasis on expanding higher education across Asia, Latin America and, more recently, Africa. Most notably, of course, former president Bill Clinton is the honorary chancellor of Laureate International Universities and the chairman and CEO of Laureate Inc. is Mr Douglas Becker. Its head office is in Baltimore, USA.

It is the honorary chancellor position that I now take particular note of. I believe that in 2011 it was announced that there would be a naming competition for this university. It was then known as the Torrens University and it continues to be known as the Torrens University. Yet in advertising the competition to name our new South Australian-based private university it was announced that potentially the prize for coming up with the name—which competition was open to entrants of South Australia or indeed any of the Laureate International faculties' students and staff, I believe—was the chance to meet former president Bill Clinton.

I ask the government: what became of that naming competition and why did Torrens University never announce a new name? Will anyone ever get to meet former president Bill Clinton as a result of that particular competition? Were any submissions provided to cabinet with recommendations for potential names in that competition, as was reported in the media, or was this something without substance? If the government would like to take the opportunity to clarify that, it would be most appreciated.

The Torrens University administration, at this stage, in response to my questions about where the university will be located, will be in the Torrens Building where, as members will be well aware, Carnegie Mellon and UCL currently have offices. I am told that there will not be educational delivery expected from this particular location, and I would like the government to clarify where in South Australia education lectures, tutorials, academic activities and the like will be undertaken.

I understand that there is a shortlist of properties. Could the government give some clarity as to where those properties are, whether or not they will be leased at market rates, whether or not Torrens University is looking to buy those properties outright, what the arrangements will be to acquire those pieces of real estate or to lease those pieces of real estate, or what arrangements have been made with the government?

I also ask the government to clarify, given the Carnegie Mellon example, whether it will provide any government scholarships to enhance the student enrolments in this particular university or whether it will declare that it will not be providing that financial support. I do so not because I do not support scholarships but because it has been said that we will not give a cent of state taxpayer money to this institution to set up. I want the government to clarify that that is indeed the case—that there will be no subsidies given in the way of scholarships, that there will be no subsidies given in the way of land or real estate.

I also ask the government to ensure that we are made aware of the recent agreements that have been made between Torrens University and TAFE SA—whether the government can provide more information to this council on the recent contract the group has been awarded to operate a number of new technical colleges in Saudi Arabia, which I understand has been done in consultation with TAFE SA.

Torrens University, we are told, will begin enrolling students in January 2014. It will initially offer bachelor degrees on campus, and I have been told by the vice-chancellor that these will in business, health and design and, indeed, that postgraduate coursework degrees in these and other fields of studies will be provided. I note that a lot of that is online, and I ask the government to clarify what level of staffing they expect by 2015, when I understand this Torrens University is required to comply with Universities Australia in accreditation as a university with that breadth of offerings.

By the end of 2013, I understand that over 20 staff will be employed by Torrens University Australia in Adelaide. This number, I believe, will grow as the university introduces its new programs, and I note that so far it seems to have been attracting quite high-quality and high-calibre staffing. I understand that teaching will be a very high priority of the institution, with small classes and a very high level of academic offerings. This will have to be the case because this will be the top end of the market, who will be paying top dollar for these courses.

With the government's commitment to Adelaide being a university city, I ask the government to provide information as to how it will ensure that Torrens University succeeds and, indeed, thrives, and how the government will ensure that it does so not at the expense of our private institutions, the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and, indeed, Flinders University.

I know that, within the university community, there is a lot of scepticism about this university emerging; many people I have spoken to do not see that we have the market. Indeed, the debate currently in South Australia is that we need fewer universities rather than more. Certainly, the government needs to be making more assurances that this university will not take away from our public institutions.

Having said that, I have many questions for the committee stage. I look forward to the government providing in great detail information about what has become of that $30 million before I support this bill through the committee stage. I look forward to the committee stage.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (17:18): I rise today to support the Torrens University Australia Bill on behalf of the opposition. As the shadow parliamentary secretary for education and training, as well as shadow parliamentary secretary for multicultural affairs, I recognise how important it is for South Australia to embrace higher education diversity, to offer choices, to provide something different, and to provide more competitive education pathways for both Australian and international students.

The shadow minister for education (the member for Unley, Mr David Pisoni) and other opposition members have spoken in support of this bill in the other place. I therefore also indicate our support in this chamber. The Liberal Party welcomes the establishment of Adelaide-based Torrens University, which is a part of the Laureate Education group. Being a part of Laureate will allow students to enjoy an international education experience that taps into the Laureate network of universities around the world.

Torrens University, based in the Torrens Building in Victoria Square in Adelaide, will be the nation's 40th university and only the third private university to establish itself in Australia. It is envisaged that Torrens University Australia will draw on the resources and experience of Laureate International Universities. Laureate has a network of more than 70 accredited campus-based and online universities offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs for more than 780,000 students around the world.

As we know, globalisation creates many opportunities for trade and transactions and capital and investment movements between countries. It also encourages migration and movement of people around the world. Today, people travel extensively for work, study and leisure reasons. Laureate is an attractive option for students because Laureate students are part of an international academic community that spans 29 countries—five institutions in North America, 29 in Latin America, 19 in Europe, 13 in the Asia-Pacific region, and five in North Africa and the Middle East.

These institutions offer hundreds of career-focused undergraduate, masters and doctoral degree programs in fields including architecture, art, business, culinary arts, design, education, engineering, health sciences, hospitality management, information technology, law and medicine. Every institution in the Laureate International Universities network operates as its own unique brand, guided by local leadership, proactively involved as a member of the community in which it operates.

Adelaide-based Torrens University will open its doors to many, and the university will be a private institution, available to domestic students as well as to fee-paying international students. The university estimates that about half of its intake will be domestic students and expects to receive accreditation for the commonwealth's FEE-HELP program. Unlike foreign universities that have opened campuses in Adelaide before, such as Cranfield, Carnegie Mellon and University College London, Torrens will be legislated as an Australian institution.

Unlike the Labor government's previous strategy to use subsidies to attract foreign universities to open offshoots in Adelaide—for example, Carnegie Mellon received around $40 million of taxpayers' money—Torrens University, on the other hand, is not receiving any state government funds but will be able to access commonwealth higher education funding. I agree with the Hon. Tammy Franks in terms of raising some of those important questions in regard to the conditions placed on establishing the university. We would like the Labor government to also explain some of those conditions.

Recent figures released by Education Adelaide revealed that 1,517 international students were enrolled in vocational education and training courses in South Australia at the end of May, a 35 per cent drop on the previous year. The higher education sector has been negatively impacted by the high Australian dollar and changes to visa entry requirements, which remove incentives to international students to come to Australia.

Education is seen by many as the gateway to jobs and better life opportunities. The choice of selecting an educational institution depends very much on the reputation and credibility of that university. The fact that Laureate International Universities is partnered with the Clinton Global Initiative, which was established in 2005 by president Bill Clinton, certainly has helped the Laureate brand further. We sincerely hope that Torrens University will have a bright future here in South Australia and receive a similar level of success and recognition enjoyed under Laureate around the world.

The university aims to take on 3,000 South Australian students. It will begin with about 200 students in 2013 undertaking about four degrees in design, hospitality, education and business. By 2016, the university intends to be covering six broad areas of study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The university network includes two of the world's leading design schools in Milan, Italy, and globally recognised hospitality institutes in Switzerland. Those studying at Torrens University Australia will undertake part of their degree program in Adelaide and part at other Laureate campuses around the world. By offering international and integrated exchange programs to students, Torrens University will equip students with an international qualification and global career prospects.

The member for Unley in another place already mentioned in his speech the key people appointed by Torrens University. I offer my congratulations to the many high calibre professionals and distinguished educators who will play significant leadership roles with Torrens University now and into the future. The list includes: Mr Michael Mann AO, as chancellor; Professor Fred McDougall, as vice-chancellor; and, two distinguished members of the governing council board, including the Hon. Greg Crafter AO, and Emeritus Professor Dennis Gibson AO.

I am passionate about empowering people to reach their full potential. I see Torrens University as another option for people to access affordable higher education and career opportunities. I understand that students at Laureate will pay between $65,000 and $85,000 for their degrees, which includes the cost of compulsory overseas study. For instance, Torrens University would offer a trimester system, which will allow a typical bachelor degree of three years duration to be completed in just two years. The shorter term degree, however, will not compromise the high standards of the qualification. Undergraduate students will be expected to spend a trimester studying at another Laureate institution and also complete an internship program in business, government or a professional organisation.

While there are some concerns that this private university may compete directly with existing universities in Australia, in speaking to many leaders of the other universities they believe healthy competition can be an effective vehicle to grow the educational pie and make Adelaide a more attractive destination for educational excellence. Having a big name like Laureate associated with Adelaide will arguably increase our presence on the world stage.

With those few words, I indicate that the Liberal Party supports this bill and the establishment of a new university in Adelaide. We believe Torrens University under Laureate will offer a different educational experience, another choice for students living in the modern global world.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins.

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