Legislative Assembly Hansard 1985
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Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly TUESDAY, 9 APRIL 1985 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy 4898 9 April 1985 Papers TUESDAY, 9 APRIL 1985 Mr SPEAKER (Hon. J. H. Warner, Toowoomba South) read prayers and took the chair at 11 a.m. ASSENT TO BILLS Assent to the foUowing Bills reported by Mr Speaker— City of Brisbane Town Planning Act and Another Act Amendment Bill; Noise Abatement Act Amendment Bill; Police Act Amendment Bill; Primary Producers' Organisation and Marketing Act and Another Act Amendment BiU; Railways Act Amendment Bill; State Govemment Insurance Office (Queensland) Act Amendment Bill; Valuation of Land Act and Other Acts Amendment Bill. RESERVATION OF BILL FOR ROYAL ASSENT Governors' Pensions Act Amendment Bill Mr SPEAKER reported the receipt of a message from His Excellency the Govemor intimating that the Govemors' Pensions Act Amendment Bill had been reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure. Mr R. J. Gibbs interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! I wam the member for Wolston. FILMING AND VIDEOTAPING OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS Mr SPEAKER: Order! I advise the House that further videotaping of proceedings for the educational film on the Parliament of Queensland will be undertaken from 11 a.m. on Wednesday, 10 April 1985, by a departmental film unit. I seek the co-operation of all honourable members in that matter. PAPERS The following paper was laid on the table, and ordered to be printed— Report of the Co-ordinator-General, Queensland, for the year ended 30 June 1984. The following papers were laid on the table— Queensland Government Gazette Extraordinary of 4 April 1985 Proclamations under the Forestry Act 1959-1984 Orders in Council under— City of Brisbane Act 1924-1984 and the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982-1984 Forestry Act 1959-1984 Harbours Act 1955-1982 By-laws under— Harbours Act 1955-1982 Harbours Act 1955-1982 and the Port of Brisbane Authority Act 1976-1982 Ministerial Statement 9 April 1985 4899 Harbours Act 1955-1982 and the Gold Coast Waterways Authority Act 1979- 1982 Report of the Queensland Grain Handling Authority which trades as Bulk Grains Queensland for the year ended 30 June 1984. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Commonwealth Funding of Queensland Tertiary Institutions Hon. L. W. POWELL (Isis—Minister for Education) (11.10 a.m.), by leave: I wish to draw the attention of honourable members to the serious shortage of tertiary education places for Queensland students. This lack of places is the result of Queensland's receiving a disproportionately low share of Commonwealth funds for the three areas of tertiary education—universities, colleges of advanced education and techiucal and further education. This statement is timely, given recent uninformed and misleading comments by some members of the Opposition in this House last week, and the release of the Commonwealth Grants Commission's recommendations for tax-sharing grants. These events have occurred against a background of the Opposition's deafening silence and its repeated failure to come out and fight on behalf of the rapidly increasing number of Queensland students who are unable to undertake tertiary studies that are their right. This year, in excess of 30 000 Queenslanders applied for entry into Queensland universities and colleges of advanced education. Of these, only 10 000 were successful. Many of the 20 000 unsuccessful students possessed the academic requirements to complete their preferred university or college course. Queensland tertiary institutions have suffered an underallocation of Commonwealth financial resources and restrictions on entry to courses since the Commonwealth assumed total responsibility for their funding in 1974. As a result, the participation rate in university education in Queensland has fallen from the highest among the States in 1971, at 4.2 per cent of the 15 to 29 year old population when funding was a State responsibility, to the lowest in 1983, at 3.6 per cent under Commonwealth funding. Of grave concern to the Queensland Government is the Commonwealth funding imbalance between the various States. The discriminator funding of Medicare by the Commonwealth Govemment has been well documented by my colleague the Minister for Health. In a similar manner, the Commonwealth has discriminated against Queensland in tertiary education funding. This funding imbalance has been the subject of repeated representations to Commonwealth authorities by the Honourable the Premier and me. I have had prepared a document highlighting the inequitable treatment of Queensland in the allocation of Commonwealth funds for tertiary education. This document reveals that Queensland's proportion of the Australian population continues to grow. Excluding the ACT, it now stands at 16.3 per cent, compared with 14.6 per cent 10 years ago. More importantly, among the younger age groups—that is, prospective tertiary students—the proportion of the Australian population in Queensland is much greater that 16.3 per cent. Of those aged 15 to 29 years, Queensland has 16.4 per cent, and for the age group 5 to 9 years, Queensland has 17.3 per cent. The proportion of Commonwealth grants provided to the State for tertiary education remains below 16.4 per cent of that provided throughout Australia. For 1984-85, Queensland received— 14.3 per cent of Commonwealth total grants for universities; 15.2 per cent of Commonwealth total grants for colleges of advanced education; and 11.1 per cent of Commonwealth total grants for technical and further education. In 1983, this funding imbalance resulted in only 3.6 per cent of Queensland's 15 to 29 year olds attending university, compared with an Australian average of 4.2 per 4900 9 April 1985 Ministerial Statement cent, and 3.8 per cent of Queensland's 15 to 29 year olds attending colleges of advanced education, compared with an Australian average of 4.3 per cent. This inequality of funding is further emphasised if Commonwealth tertiary funding to the States and the ACT is calculated on a per capita basis. The foUoAving per capita figures have been calculated from information contained within the Commonwealth Budget Papers 1984-85, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics publication "Australian Demographic Statistics". I seek leave to have a graph and table of these figures incorporated into "Hansard". Leave granted. Commonwealth Funding per Head of Population for States for Tertiary Education 1984-1985 140-1 130- Three Sectors Combined 120- 110- 100- 90- 80- University Sector 70- 60- 50- Advanced Education Sector 40- 30- 20- 10- T.A.F.E. Sector —I— I I NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS STATES Ministerial Statement 9 April 1985 4901 Commonwealth Funding per Head of Population for States and A.C.T. for Tertiary Education 1984-85 Six 1984-85 N.S.W. Vic Qld W.A. S.A. A.C.T. Tas States Total Population 5 405 100 4 075 900 2 505 100 1 382 700 1 353 000 437 300 15 159 100 245 600 (June 1982) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ University Expenditure 392 776 271 100 146 478 83 978 95 722 37 139 1 027 193 134 976 ($'000) Per Capita University 72.67 66.51 58.47 60.73 70.75 84.92 67.76 549.58 Expenditure C.A.E. Expenditure 177 118 249 708 105 911 82 137 69 941 10 984 695 799 23 789 ($'000) Per Capita C.A.E. 32.77 61.26 42.28 59.40 51.69 25.12 45.90 96.86 Expenditure TAFE Expenditure 48 986 34 831 14 058 12 960 11472 3 903 126 210 32 482 ($'000) Per Capita TAFE 9.06 8.55 5.61 9.37 8.48 8.93 8.33 132.26 Expenditure Per Capita Total 114.50 136.32 106.36 129.50 130.92 118.97 121.99 778.70 Tertiary Expenditure Source: Population Data—Australian Bureau of Statistics "Australian Demographic Statistics— June Quarter, 1984" Expenditure Data—Commonwealth Budget Paper No. 7 1984-85 CommonweaUh Budget Paper No. 2 1984-85 (for A.C.T. data) Mr POWELL: These figures reveal that, for university, TAFE and for a combination of all three tertiary education sectors, Queensland receives the lowest amount of Com monwealth tertiary education funds per head of population. Of particular interest is the lavish funding of tertiary institutions in the Australian Capital Territory. For example, in 1984-85, Queensland universities and colleges of advanced education and TAFE colleges received only $106.36 per head of population, compared with $136.32 for Victoria, $130.92 for South Australia, $129.51 for Westem Australia and $778.69 for the Australian Capital Territory. In 1984-85, an allocation of Commonwealth funds to Queensland based on 16.3 per cent of the Australian population would have provided an increase in funding to Queensland universities and colleges of $34.9m. To bring Queensland tertiary education participation rates up to the national average will require in excess of 6 000 extra student places and associated funding for the university and advanced education sectors alone. 4902 9 April 1985 Questions Upon Notice What these figures do not show is the disillusionment faced by the rapidly increasing numbers of qualified Queensland students completing Year 12 who are unable to gain entry into our tertiary institutions. The time has come for the Commonwealth Govem ment to move past the rhetoric of "participation and equity" to a firm financial commitment to redress this national disgrace. For a Govemment that promotes non discrimination policies, the Commonwealth stands condemned by its continued, blatant discrimination against Queensland in the funding of tertiary education. QUESTIONS UPON NOTICE Totahsator Administration Board; Information Additional to Answer to Question No. 1 on Wednesday, 3 April 1985 Mr HINZE: I refer to my answer given in reply to question No. 1 asked by the honourable member for Lytton on 3 April 1985.