Transcript - Doorstop

JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: Never in my life did I expect to see Peter Dutton get into bed with the Greens on immigration. But that is what looks like happening this week here at Parliament House. There's news breaking here that the Liberal Party are going to vote against putting a limit on the number of international students that can come to Australia every year. And if Peter Dutton votes against this, this will destroy his credibility. You can't talk tough on immigration and then go soft on this. You can't talk tough on immigration and then vote against putting a limit on the number of people that come to this country every year.
Over the course of the next few months, Peter Dutton is going to wander around the country pretending to be a tough guy on immigration. And every time he says the word immigration, remember this week is the week that proves that Peter Dutton might pretend to be a tough guy on immigration, but the truth is he's a fraud. And this is the week that Australians will come to know that they can't trust anything that Peter Dutton says. Happy to take some questions.

JOURNALIST: Minister, what are you going to do if you can't put it through the Senate?

CLARE: If the Bill doesn't go through the Senate, then the de facto cap, which is Ministerial Direction 107, stays.

JOURNALIST: Has the Coalition indicated what they want in exchange or what it is they're trying to do here?

CLARE: No, they have not. They haven't put forward any amendments, but they're now telling people in the media they're intending to vote against this. My message to some of the people that speak a bit of common sense in the Coalition, in particular I mean the National Party, is get in Peter Dutton's door and get in Peter Dutton's ear and talk to him now. Because it's the National Party MPs and senators in this building that are quietly telling me they want this Bill passed, because they know that at the moment, the way the system works, it's benefiting the big unis in the city and it's hurting the small unis in the bush. That's why I want to pass this legislation, so that I can help those smaller universities in the regions. That's why just privately, the National Party are begging the Liberal Party to back this Bill. They need to work pretty hard over the next 24 hours to make sure that happens.

JOURNALIST: Have you had any conversations with your opposite counterpart over this legislation? Has she indicated to you what way they're thinking about voting?

CLARE: What they've said publicly is that they support a cap. What they're saying privately to other people in the sector now is that they're intending to vote against this legislation. Now, remember, Peter Dutton said in his Budget Reply speech back in May that he believed there should be a cap on international student numbers. That's what this bill does. That's all this bill does. It doesn't set the numbers for individual institutions. It sets up a power to create a cap. And Peter Dutton is about to tell the Liberal Party to vote against what he said should happen back in May in his Budget Reply speech. Now, if the Liberal Party are going to vote against what Peter Dutton said unequivocally it should happen, how can the Australian people trust Peter Dutton on anything?

JOURNALIST: This might be a bit of a stupid question --

CLARE: There are no stupid questions.

JOURNALIST: If the Coalition were to put forward a Bill suggesting a certain cap and certain number before the election would you support that?

CLARE: This Bill does that. The Bill sets in place the power to create a cap on international students. And not just that, this Bill also deals with some pretty serious corruption and integrity issues in international education that's backed by the entire sector when it comes to those reforms. So, Peter Dutton votes against this, not only is he destroying his credibility on immigration by demonstrating that you can't trust what he says on immigration, but he's voting against legislation which is designed to fix some of the serious integrity and fraud and corruption issues in this sector.

JOURNALIST: Can you speculate on the potential strategy, political strategy behind that kind of deal?

CLARE: I won't speculate on it, Julie. What I'd encourage you and other colleagues here in the media to do is ask the Liberal Party to front a camera like this and answer that question. Because they've been hiding now for more than 180 days. Hearing after hearing, saying they support a cap. And now we know that they're intending to vote against the legislation that Peter Dutton said was needed. The next time Peter Dutton fronts a camera, the next time anyone in the Liberal Party fronts a camera here in Parliament House, I'd encourage all of you to ask them why are they going to vote against a Bill that in the end, by voting against it, will destroy Peter Dutton's credibility.

JOURNALIST: Do you think universities have enough time to actually put this in place because there's been talks about offers [indistinct].

CLARE: Universities are already taking that sort of action. They know what the indicative caps are. We provided that to universities in August. They're working up to and against those caps now. You would’ve seen a story recently, in the Nine papers about Sydney University and UNSW in that regard. So, universities are working against those indicative caps right now.
Not sure if it'll be today, but it certainly will be this week.
Just to make the point in wrapping up, there's six Bills that I want the Senate to consider this week or next week. One of those Bills is a 15 per cent pay rise for early educators. One of those Bills is to enable me as Minister to increase funding for public schools. One of those Bills would apply the Unique Student Identifier system to schools, to students at schools as well as students at university and at TAFE. One of those Bills sets up a National Student Ombudsman for the first time. And then there's the Bill that fixes the indexation of HECS, that provides the paid prac for the first time and will enable greater funding for FEE-FREE university ready courses. 
And then there's this Bill, which will enable me as Minister to set a cap on the number of international students that come and study in Australia every year. And the Liberal Party is now flagging that it's intending to vote against this. The bloke who beats his chest and talks a big game in this building and around the country about how tough he's supposed to be on immigration is about to vote against a Bill to limit the number of people coming into this country. And that will tell Australians they can't trust anything that Peter Dutton says. Thanks.