Joint media release
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Women, Shadow Minister for Industry, Skills and Training, Shadow Minister for Small and Family Business, Hon Sussan Ley MP
Shadow Minister for Education, Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
The Coalition has serious concerns about the Albanese Government’s approach to higher education and vocational training following revelations Education Minister Jason Clare’s student cap methodology may be rewarding sanctioned providers over high-quality training colleges and that Skills Minister Andrew Giles has been caught out lying about so-called ‘ghost college’ numbers.
Every day generates more questions than answers about the Albanese Government’s flawed methodology used to allocate foreign student caps across the higher education and vocational sector.
The Coalition has maintained the importance of a cap on international students because of Labor’s immigration chaos, but the Albanese Government’s scheme is riddled with incompetence, secrecy, uncertainty and unfairness.
Fresh revelations today indicate at least 11 sanctioned vocational colleges were allotted foreign student places for next year by the Albanese Government at the same time as many of our world-leading training providers are confronting massive cuts threatening their viability.
On the back of these revelations experts and the sector have raised the prospect that the methodology Labor may have applied to student caps appears to be totally automated. This means colleges which have kept student numbers at sustainable levels to ensure high-quality training are being punished while the small minority of providers which have inflated numbers to maximise profits are being rewarded. This is deeply concerning.
The fact that the vast majority of Australia’s vocational and higher education providers are responsibly run and deliver world-leading high quality services has been ignored by Labor.
It is also becoming clear Labor’s approach threatens key areas of the economy. Over the weekend pilot training schools indicated they are on the verge of collapse. This comes as a pilot shortage has grounded some of Queensland’s rescue helicopters and a severe pilot shortage is impacting the aviation industry across the world.
The Coalition continues to scrutinise Labor’s flawed bill to implement student caps with another public hearing scheduled in Canberra on 2 October.
The Coalition supports capping international students, but we will continue to scrutinise this process and will do so until we get the answers we are seeking.
Today Skills Minister Andrew Giles has also been caught lying to the Australian people while trying to talk tough on integrity in the skills sector.
A month ago, Minister Giles claimed to have axed 150 “ghost colleges”, saying:
“The Albanese Government is calling time on the rorts and loopholes that have plagued the VET sector for far too long under the former Liberal and National Government. We’ve weeded out and shut down over 150 dormant operators, and 140 more have been given a yellow card.”
The only problem for this hapless minister is according to experts the list of so called “ghost colleges” he has “weeded out” includes Ausgrid, the Alzheimer’s Association of Queensland, the Australian Medical Association, and the Australian College of Nursing, 12 schools and Fiji’s highly regarded University of the South Pacific.
These organisations simply ceased providing vocational courses. They are not ghost colleges at all.
The Coalition expects Minister Giles to correct the record today and will pursue him over this deliberate deception.