Press conference - Strathpine

ALI FRANCE, MEMBER-ELECT FOR DICKSON: Welcome to Strathpine, everybody. I want to thank the Education Minister, Jason Clare and also the BUSY group, and also our State Assistant Minister for Education, Jess Pugh, for coming up – Shadow, sorry – for coming up to Strathpine today to open the Strathpine University Hub. The way in which we do university has completely changed since I finished my university degree in 1996, a long time ago where you actually had to be in front of a lecturer in order to learn. Now you can do your university degree anywhere where there is reliable Wi-Fi. And that's such a great thing because Hubs like this one here, it means that lots more people will be able to go to university closer to where they live, and including people who have young children, families who are already in the workforce, who are retraining. And I tell you what, I'm so excited about this for this community. It's just going to be great. And I'll hand over to Jason. Thank you.
 

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: G’day everyone, and it's really exciting to be here. You're right, Ali. I'm excited to be here. Firstly with you, the sensational, the absolutely fantastic Ali France, a fantastic new member for Dickson. To be here with you, Jess as well, and Paul and all of the growing congregation of people who are here that are excited to cut a ribbon today and see this new centre open here in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. 

What's this about? This is about helping more young people get a crack at university closer to home, closer to where they live. In the years ahead, more jobs are going to require more skills. That means more people finishing high school and more people being able to go to TAFE or to go to university. And it's Hubs like this in the outer suburbs of our big cities that are about making that easier for more young Australians to do and to do it closer to where they live. At the moment, around about 45 per cent of young people in their 20s and 30s have a university degree. But that's not the case everywhere. It's certainly not the case in the bush or in the regions, and it's not the case in the outer suburbs of our big cities either. I grew up in the outer suburbs of Sydney and I know as a kid growing up in the western suburbs of Sydney that a lot of kids that I went to school with thought that university was just somewhere else for someone else, that it was too far away, that it wasn't for them, and so they never went. I want to change that. And that's what this is fundamentally all about. Ali, I know your story, you went to uni in Toowoomba, right? 
 

FRANCE: Yes at the University of Southern Queensland. And I was a Gold Coast kid, but I didn't get into my local university, so I had to travel and be away from home. So, yeah, it was a great experience.
 

CLARE: Some young people go away, some people will make the trip into the heart of Brisbane to go to university. But a lot of people in the northern suburbs of Brisbane will just make that same decision that friends of mine made, which is that ‘it's not for me.’ And you can see it in the statistics. I said a minute ago that about 45 per cent of young people in their 20s and 30s have a university degree. But not here. Here it's about 15 per cent. This model that we're opening today, this Suburban University Study Hub, we know this model works. It's not new. It already exists in the regions. We've got about 34 in the bush and in the regions. And we know that where they are, more people go to university. So, it works. And that's why, as part of the Universities Accord, we're doubling that number. 20 more in the regions and now 15 for the first time in the outer suburbs of our big cities. And this is the very first in Queensland. So, I'm really excited to be here because I know that it's places like this that are going to help to change people's lives. It's not just computers and desks, it's the people that will be here to help people with their university degree. You'll be able to do almost any degree at any university in the country right here. And it's just going to make it easier for people to do what they want and to build the careers that they want. So, really excited to be here. Jess, did you want to say a few words and then hand over to Paul? 
 

JESS PUGH: I'm just really pleased because I think one of the things that the BUSY School does best is it ensures that young people, especially in years 11 and year 12, remain engaged in the school system where they might be struggling. And that ensures that those young people continue to have opportunities and pathways open to them. And I'll give you an example of that, a personal example. My young daughter, Alegra, is 15 years old and she's just started studying early childhood education one day a week with her local state school. But like a lot of kids, she doesn't love school. And this kind of program gives kids, like Alegra, like my daughter, the opportunity to stay engaged while focusing on their preferred pathway and stay engaged and involved in their education and it gives them options so that when she finishes her TAFE qualification, she can actually choose to go on and do further study like a diploma, or even go and do an education degree. Because of places like the BUSY School that provide that opportunity to young people. It's really important to recognise that academia is not for every child, but every child deserves the opportunity to learn and every child deserves the opportunity to have opportunities. They've got to be able to keep those career pathways open and that's what the BUSY School does so well. It reaches out to those young people who aren't really loving being involved in the nine to three of school every single day and makes sure they stay engaged. They stay on the pathway to opportunity and keeps those opportunities open for them. So, I, as a parent and as a Member of Parliament, I really appreciate that and so I'm really looking forward to hearing from the BUSY Group this morning. Thank you.
 

PAUL MILES, THE BUSY GROUP: Thanks so much, Jess. Thanks, Minister. Thanks, Ali. It's great to be here. The BUSY Group exists to create opportunities for people who are marginalised, disengaged, struggling with education, employment and skills. So, a program like this from the Federal Government is just fantastic. This speaks to the heart of what we do as a not for profit organisation. We deliver programs now for marginalised groups around the world. But we're very passionately a South East Queensland organisation and we're very passionate about the Strathpine community, which is why we have one of our schools here as well. Our school is here because not enough young people complete an education and as the Minister said, not enough people are also going into further education, higher education in this community. So, for us to be able to deliver this program on behalf of the Federal Government is just wonderful and we truly hope we can make a difference and help more people enter university, finish university and find meaningful pathways for their future.
 

CLARE: One last thing. This Saturday is the 1st of June, and on the 1st of June every year, student debts are indexed. We made a really important commitment at this election that we will cut the student debt of every Australian by 20 per cent. That's 3 million Aussies right across the country where we're going to cut your debt by 20 per cent. The average debt at the moment is around about $27,000. So, that means we're going to be able to cut the average student debt by $5,500. Now, Parliament is required to make this a reality. We've got to pass laws through the Parliament to cut everyone's student debt by 20 per cent. Parliament's not going to sit before this Saturday, but Parliament sits in late July. And the very first piece of legislation that we'll introduce is legislation to cut everyone's debt by 20 per cent. And that legislation will backdate that to the 1st of June before that indexation that happens on Saturday occurs. So, I'm really excited to get back to Parliament. I'm excited to hear Ali make your first speech to the Parliament. But I'm also really excited to introduce the very first piece of legislation that will cut everyone's student debt by 20 per cent. Thanks very much, everyone.