University of Tasmania 'The Shed' opening
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:
- Tasmanian Minister for Education, Jo Palmer
- Launceston Mayor, Councillor Matthew Garwood
- Vice Chancellor Professor Rufus Black
- My good friend, Senator Helen Polley
I was here not too long ago when it was still being built.
It really is fantastic to see it come to life and from next year offering degrees in everything from science, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, medicine and physiotherapy.
When I think about the best universities in Australia, I don’t look at rankings.
I look at what they do.
And when I do that, I see universities like you.
Universities that are the real deal when it comes to fairness and opening the doors of opportunity.
When it comes to helping more people from poor families and the regions to get a crack.
Things that are important to me.
Last year, 16 per cent of university students were from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Here at University of Tasmania it was 25 per cent.
That sort of university doesn’t just change the lives of the students you teach.
It ricochets through generations.
It transforms communities.
That’s the power of education.
That’s why the deal that Jo and I, and the Prime Minister and Premier Rockliff, signed a few weeks ago is so important.
Properly funding our schools and tying it to reforms to help young Tasmanians catch up, keep up and boosting the number of children finishing high school.
Building that bridge to get here.
But it’s not just about the number of people who go to university or the number who finish school or go to early education and care.
It’s even more basic than that.
It’s the number of years you are likely to live.
Last time I was here, Rufus and I talked exactly about that.
In Newstead – 2.5 km down the road – the average life expectancy is 85.
In Grindelwald – 18 km north of here – it is 74.
11 years less.
The average person in Grindelwald lives 11 years less than the average person in Newstead.
About 25 minutes apart on a good day.
And it’s the same if you look in the Hobart region.
In Bridgewater, the life expectancy is 67 and in Sandy Bay it’s 86. That’s 19 years less.
In fact, for every kilometre you travel north away from Sandy Bay, you lose a year of life expectancy.
That’s what inequity really looks like in its most awful form.
Education can’t change everything.
But it is the most powerful change-maker in this country.
It’s why the reforms I am driving in higher education are about giving more people a crack at university.
About breaking down the barrier that stops a lot of people from the outer suburbs and regions getting a look in.
It’s why places like this are so important.
This is more than just a building, it’s a beacon.
It shows you know, like I do, that education is the most powerful cause for good in this country.
UTAS describes itself as “an agent for change”.
That’s what education is.
It’s the greatest tool we have to build a country where your chances in life don’t depend on who your parents are, where you live or the colour of your skin.
A country that the Prime Minister describes as a place where no one is held back and no one is left behind.
We can be that country.
And our education system can make it real.
But that means serious reform.
The sort we are doing now.
And more.
And it will be better because of what you have built right here in Northern Tasmania.
It’s an honour to be here and share this moment with you today.