Higher Education

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (14:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills a question about higher education.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: The government and our higher education institutions have a history of working collaboratively to advance mutual areas of education and social responsibility. Can the minister update the chamber about her recent meetings with higher education institutions?

The Hon. R.I. Lucas: It's operational issues: contact the universities.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:28): This is not an operational matter at all; it is actually a very important policy issue to do with higher education, not VET. It is interesting that the opposition doesn't understand the difference.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Can we allow the minister to finish her answer in silence.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Can I ask the opposition to let the minister have the silence she deserves. The honourable minister.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Thank you very much, Mr President. Today, the Premier and I had the great pleasure of witnessing all three South Australian university vice-chancellors, as well as the chief executive of TAFE SA, sign on to an Australian Human Rights Commission national anti-racism campaign, the first—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —in the nation. We should be incredibly proud that the first of its sort in this nation—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Wade expressed a bit of concern about the behaviour in this chamber, so I think at the end of the day we should respect Mr Wade's delicacy on this. Have you finished, minister, or are you still going? Allow the minister to complete it in silence.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Thank you, Mr President. The 'Racism. It Stops With Me' campaign is all about making a stand against racism, to raise awareness of systemic barriers to racial equality. South Australia is a vibrant multicultural state, we attract a large number of international students, and this cultural diversity is one of our state's greatest strengths. The state government, as a previous signatory to this anti-racism campaign, is actively working to eliminate racism from our society because we know racism can have serious consequences for the people who experience it. It can shatter people's confidence and their sense of worth, and it can undermine their ability to perform at work and in study.

Ultimately, racism stops because of the actions we all take, either as an individual or collectively. We all have a role to play in taking action against racism wherever we see it and supporting initiatives to stop it from happening, and that is why I was so pleased to see all South Australian universities and TAFE SA make a public stand against racism. In making this public stand we were obviously sending a clear message that we will do everything in our power to eliminate racism and embrace diversity.

Ms Anne Gale, the Equal Opportunity Commissioner of SA, relayed a message from the federal Race Discrimination Commissioner, Mr Tim Soutphommasane. He was not able to join us there today, but he sent a message of good wishes, stating that last year he had had the pleasure of welcoming Premier Jay Weatherill and that the South Australian government was the first to become a government-at-large supporter of the campaign, 'Racism. It Stops With Me'. He stated:

…but I am delighted by your commitment to our cause. It is a credit to your leadership that such a strong and unified message is being sent about the importance of countering racism...

His message also went on to say:

And your leadership is important. Our universities and TAFEs are in a unique position to lead the way in communicating the message of tolerance and understanding; after all, the task of fighting prejudice and discrimination remains one of education. It is about informing people about racism's harms, alerting people to what they can do to respond, and reminding people that hatred diminishes us all.

He went on to thank the wonderful contribution of Anne Gale, the Equal Opportunity Commissioner of South Australia and her leadership.

As well as attending today's signing ceremony, I was also pleased to attend the South Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, where the three vice-chancellors from South Australian universities discussed a range of matters relating to the higher education sector, and they were important discussions.

Obviously this state government is deeply concerned about the proposed federal budget cuts to our higher education sector and the impact that that is going to have on education. We know that savage cuts in public funding to South Australia's universities, added to the increased fees that will be required to be paid by students, will total almost $250 million over four years. South Australian university students will now have to borrow more, pay higher interest on their loans and pay back debt faster.

We know that the commonwealth government has cut payments to public universities by 20 per cent for each student which means that South Australia's public universities alone will lose $78 million over the next four years and students will pay 20 per cent more than they currently pay. This government will not sit idly by and watch the federal Liberal government rip millions from our higher education sectors. We are committed to working with our universities to ensure that those who study hard and want to go to university can, regardless of how much money they have.