Further Dissenting Report by Senator Stott Despoja
The Australian Democrats endorse the main body of the minority report
with one critical qualification. Implicit in the report is the assumption
that HECS, as conceived by the Wran Committee in 1988, implemented by
the Labor government in 1989 and maintained by Labor governments since
then, is a model of equitable practice. The Australian Democrats question
this assumption. For a short period after the abolition of fees in 1974,
the system of higher education in Australia demonstrated a commitment
to principles of equity. The introduction of the Higher Education Administration
Charge (HEAC) in 1987 was the first step to introduce user-pay principles.
The adoption of the recommendations of the Wran Committee significantly
furthered this move. Despite the beguiling nature of the term contribution,
the base level of HECS for 1996 is in real terms the equivalent of the
charges that existed prior to 1974. These were more accurately described
as fees.
It should be noted that the introduction by a Labor government of fees
for postgraduate coursework and the subsequent removal of all regulations
relating to fee charging in the post-graduate area opened the door to
unprecedented levels of charges in Australian public universities.
The Australian Democrats reject the principle of user pays that has applied
to higher education since the introduction of HECS in 1989. If HECS had
worked as a means of improving equity, increased participation of people
from lower socio-economic backgrounds would be evident. The statistics
show this not to be the case. Evidence contained in a report, Access
to Privilege, suggest a strong link between the abolition of fees
and the increase in the proportion of full time students whose fathers
were from trades/manual occupations. [1]
Changes in this bill exacerbate what are already deterrent effects of
HECS on those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Australian Democrats support the provision of a an equitable system
of higher education fully funded by a progressive taxation system. The
promotion of equity should be made a priority in higher education policy.
Senator N Stott Despoja
Footnotes
[1] D S Anderson and A E Vervoorn, Access
to Privilege, ANU pPress, Canberra, 1983