Alphacrucis University College: Faith-Based Education in Western Sydney

Good morning.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are meeting and pay my respects to elders past and present.

I also acknowledge:

•    Professor Stephen Fogarty, President of Alphacrucis University College 
•    Rev Assoc Prof David Perry, Chair, Independent Higher Education Australia (IHEA) 
•    Shiekh Shadi Alsuleiman, Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) 
•    Associate Professor Gil Davis from the Australian Catholic University
•    Senator Dave Sharma 
•    Mr Peter McKeon, Chair, Australian Christian Higher Education Alliance 
•    Ms Margery Evans, Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW) 
•    Mr Graham Catt, Independent Schools Australia 
•    Mr Sai Paravastu, Hindu Council of Australia 
•    Mr Dallas McInerney, Catholic Schools, NSW 
•    Mr Ian Liney, Christian Schools Australia 
•    Mrs Vanessa Cheng, Australian Association of Christian Schools

And can I thank the team at Alphacrucis for bringing us all together.

At times like this, that’s really important.  

We are the best country in the world.

I really believe that.

And a big part of that, I think, is because we are made up of people from all around the world, all different backgrounds, all different faiths.

Living in harmony.

That makes us different to most other countries.

It sends a message to the rest of the world about what is possible.

We haven’t always been like this.

If we jumped in a time machine and went back to when I was born in the early 70s we would barely recognise the Australia we found.

The White Australia Policy still hadn’t been completely dismantled.

Only about 1 per cent of Australians came from somewhere other than Europe.

Today more than 4 million Australians were born in Asia - or their parents were.

The number of Indian Australians has doubled in just the last decade.

After Christianity, the next biggest faith practiced by Australians is Islam.

The fastest growing religion is Hinduism.

We are a different country.

Education has also made us a different country to the one I was born in.

In 1972 only 18 per cent of Australians finished school. Today’s it’s about 80 per cent.

Back then less than 10 per cent of young Australians had a uni degree. Now it’s almost one in two.

That’s nation changing stuff.

And the truth is religious institutions have done a big chunk of that work.  

Professor Paul Oslington from Alphacrucis College has made the point that faith-based education was here before our first public universities.

St James College on King Street was teaching children and adults before the first brick was laid at the University of Sydney.

Across the country now there are almost 3,000 Catholic, Anglican, Islamic, Jewish and other religious schools.

That change that I talked about, that’s happened in the last 50 years hasn’t stopped. We are still changing.

And if we get into a time machine and take it to 2050 it will look a lot different again.

This is why the Universities Accord is important.

To help us get ready for that future.

What it says is that by 2050 we are going to need a workforce where 80 per cent haven’t just finished high school, we are going to need a workforce where 80 per cent have finished school and they have gone to TAFE or university as well.

That’s a big shift.

Some of that will happen organically.

Just because the fastest growing jobs are in professions that require a uni degree or a TAFE qualification.

But some of it will require reform.

Reform to our education system.

To help us get there.

I said a moment ago about one in two young Australians have a university degree today.

But it’s not one in two everywhere.

But it’s not one in two in our outer suburbs. It’s not one in two in the regions or the bush.

And if we are going to hit that 80 per cent target, we have got to change that.

That’s what the Accord says. And that’s what the reforms I am implementing are all about.

Things like:

•    Wiping $3 billion of HECS debt for more than 3 million Australians. 
•    Paid prac – financial support for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students while they do their prac.
•    Massively expanding fee-free uni ready courses – those courses that act as a bridge between school and uni.

All of that is in the Parliament right now.

It’s just the start.

The Accord also recommends a new funding system, needs-based funding and a new Australian Tertiary Education Commission to steer reform over multiple governments.

And I hope to provide you with more detail on all of that before the end of the year.

There is also another Bill in the Parliament.

That’s the one that sets up a National Student Ombudsman.

An independent body to investigate and resolve disputes and give students a stronger voice when the worst happens.

It will also have strong investigative powers, similar to those of a Royal Commission.

It is a long overdue response to the appalling evidence of sexual violence and harassment on campuses and in student accommodation.

But it’s not just about that. Its scope will be broad.

That includes complaints about antisemitism and Islamophobia or any type of racism or discrimination.

The bottom line is I want students to be safe and feel safe and if something really bad happens they have a place to go to get action.

Something else I want to talk about today is this.

Institutions here in this room help train teachers, nurses, counsellors, lawyers, care workers.

And you also train pastors and priests and ministers. But we don’t train Rabbis or Imams in Australia. Not yet.

I've spoken a number of times to leaders in the Jewish community and Islamic community and others, like Murray Norman, CEO of Better Balanced Futures, about this.

I think it's in our interest as a country to change this.

For Australian religious leaders to be able to get the training and qualifications they need here in Australia.

Without having to go overseas.

I also want to talk to you today about our schools.

We have got big challenges here too.

Think about this.

Over the last eight years the percentage of students finishing high school has gone down not up.

From 85 percent to 79 percent.

That drop isn’t happening everywhere.

In non-government schools the percentage of students finishing school is either pretty flat or going up.

Where the drop is happening is in our public schools. From 83 percent to 73 percent.

This is what we have to turn around.

This is what the reforms I am trying to implement with the States are all about.

Our non-government schools are fully funded or on a path to be fully funded.

Our public schools aren’t.

We need to fix funding and tie that funding to the reforms that are going to help students catch up, keep up and finish high school.

This not about breaking Gonski. It is about finishing it.

That’s good for the whole schooling system.

You know I am a product of public education. And proud of it.

But I hope you also know that I value what you do too.

You will never see me attacking faith-based education.

You are an integral part of our education system.

One last thing.

The reforms I am driving aren’t just in our universities or schools.

If we are serious, we have to go back further than that.

I am talking about early education.  

The child care debate is over. It’s not babysitting. It’s early education.

The first five years of a child's life are everything.

Everything they see, everything they hear, everything they eat, every book they open, every lesson they learn shapes the person that they become.

The Government is now considering the Productivity Commission’s final report on the future of early education.

It tells us it’s children from poor families who are the least likely to go to early childhood education and care, and the most likely to benefit from it.

It will help us to build a more accessible and affordable early education and care system, which gives children the skills they need to start school ready to learn.

All these reforms will help us to continue to write the story of Western Sydney.

A story of change. A story of progress. A story of aspiration.

A story made possible by the power of education.

A story that you are helping to write every day. Thank you for what you do and thank you for being here today.