黑料老司机 Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy called the decision a win for all Australians, paving the way for sustainable growth in the critically important international education sector.听
鈥淭his is the commonsense decision that was desperately needed to deliver some of the certainty and stability our universities have been seeking,鈥 Mr Sheehy said.听听
鈥淢D107 has wreaked havoc, stripping billions of dollars from the economy and inflicting incredibly serious financial harm on universities, particularly those in regional and outer suburban areas.听
鈥淲e have called for it to be revoked since June and we strongly support the Albanese Government鈥檚 decision to create a more even playing field for universities.听
鈥淚nternationalisation and international students are critically important to our economy, our society and our universities. They never deserved to be positioned as cannon fodder in a political battle over migration and housing.听
鈥淒eclining government investment in higher education teaching and research over the last decade has meant our institutions have become necessarily reliant on international student revenue to fund core business.听
鈥淎ustralia needs more of both 鈥 more skilled graduates to fuel our workforce and more research and development to drive our progress.听
鈥淭hese activities are key to building a stronger, more prosperous future for all Australians.听
鈥淲e want to work constructively with both major parties to develop revised policy options that enable our international education sector to continue delivering for the economy and universities.听
鈥淎s a starting point, the 145,000 places allocated to universities under the National Planning Level should be used as a baseline in the development of future policies.听
鈥淩educing migration should not be at the expense of any one sector, particularly not one as crucial to our economy as education.听
鈥淎s we head toward the next federal election, our ask is simple 鈥 we need to take the politics out of higher education and focus on the national interest that flows from it.鈥听
ENDS听
RADIO AND TELEVISION GRABS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD .听
