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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-06-05 Daily Xml
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International Students

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:25): Thanks, Mr President. My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: If you impugn my integrity again there will be serious consequences. Be careful what you say in my earshot. Do you wish to apologise for that comment now?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I apologise for the comment, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: I accept the apology. The Hon. Mr Stephens.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader of the Opposition, your behaviour has been totally inappropriate. You are supposed to be trying to hold the government to account and you are consistently failing.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Do not push it. I will be minded to not give Labor the call. At the moment, I do so in the interests of democracy. The Hon. Mr Stephens.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: My question is to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister update the council on the latest data for international student enrolments in South Australia?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:27): I thank the honourable member for the question. Indeed, it is great news. As many members would have seen in today's paper, I am glad to share the fantastic news that South Australia's year-to-date enrolments to March have increased by 11.4 per cent when compared to the same time last year. This is a figure of nearly 30,400 enrolments for the first three months of 2019. The national growth rate for the same time was 11.1 per cent, making this the first time since 2011 that South Australia has been above the national average.

The higher education, VET and school sectors all grew at a faster rate than the national growth average, and now South Australia makes up 11 per cent of all international student enrolments in primary and secondary schools across Australia. Our market is diversifying as well, with our top five growth countries being India, Nepal, Brazil, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. International education is South Australia's second largest export behind wine, with $1.62 billion—I will repeat that: $1.62 billion—coming into our state from the nearly 38,000 international student enrolments last year, in 2018.

The sector is a significant employer of South Australians, with one job created for every four international students. This is why, since day one, the Marshall Liberal government has invested more into the sector than ever before and has made key strategic decisions to drive more international enrolments into our state. We have increased funding to StudyAdelaide to $2.5 million a year; we have more than doubled StudyAdelaide's student ambassador program; we have strengthened our interactions with overseas agents with bigger and better familiarisation tours; we have introduced new initiatives, such as a Ministerial Advisory Council on International Education; and we have secured favourable changes to our post-study visa conditions. As witnessed by these results, our hands-on approach to engage with the sector is already bearing fruit.

The Marshall Liberal government welcomes international students to our state and we will all benefit as a result. We are proud to provide our international students with a high-quality education and a great start to a career in one of the best places in the world. In return, all these students spend money on accommodation, goods and local services while living here, creating more jobs for South Australians.

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