International Students Public Transport Concessions

Ms LEE RHIANNON [5.45 p.m.]: In 1999 the New South Wales Government withdrew access to public transport travel concessions from international students. In 2002 the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association commenced a complaint originally in the jurisdiction of the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board. This was later transferred to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales. The basis of the complaint was that the transport Minister's refusal to provide full fee paying international students with transport concessions was, and continues to be, an act of discrimination based on race.

In March 2006 the New South Wales Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled in favour of the applicants, finding that the State Government and other respondents were in breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977. In September 2006 the Iemma Government, supported by the Opposition, responded to the Administrative Decision Tribunal's ruling by amending the Transport Administration Act 1988 so that it could seek to circumvent the tribunal's ruling. Consequently, full-time full fee paying international students continue to be denied this concession entitlement whilst their Australian counterparts enjoy this benefit.

The successful racial discrimination case against the New South Wales Minister for Transport, State Transit Authority, Roads and Traffic Authority and RailCorp highlighted the prejudicial behaviour of the Government and its instrumentalities in its dealings with international students. The effect of the decision is that the Government denied international students travel concessions and overcharged them for public transport fares by 50 per cent. This was nothing short of disgraceful and wholesale discrimination. Instead of challenging the decision on legal principles, the Government took the extreme step of passing special legislation that made the discrimination lawful as from September 2006. This conduct, which is a denial of human rights, has damaged the reputation of New South Wales as a destination of choice among international students. Many are now looking to study in Queensland and South Australia, which do offer these concessions.

In 2006, 383,818 international students were enrolled at Australian institutions. Despite the dramatic growth from China and India in particular, enrolments from five of Australia's top 10 markets—Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and the United States—have been in decline in recent years. In 2005-06 overseas students studying in New South Wales contributed total revenue from tuition fees in excess of $680 million, funding the operations of our public tertiary institutions. These students contributed a further $5 billion to the economy of New South Wales through the consumption of goods and services.

Despite the significant financial contribution derived from this market, the New South Wales Government has failed to provide incentives for students to choose New South Wales as their study destination. In recent decades Australia has built a highly successful international education industry. Australia is the fifth most popular study destination in the world. However, Australia's share of the international higher education market remained stagnant from 1999 to 2004, despite the fact that enrolments in Australian institutions doubled. This reflects strong and increasing global competition for international students. The threat to Australia's education export market from growing competition must be considered and the Government must respond to it. For example, a Commonwealth Treasury report commented:

Competition is intensifying in the Asia-Pacific education market as Asian universities are offering modern facilities.

The Greens do not suggest that Australia's international education market will disappear. However, as countries in our region develop their educational capabilities, Australia's market share is likely to be challenged. The early stages of this effect may already be evident, with the number of students from Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia in decline in recent years. While growth is anticipated in the face of increasing competition, one concern for industry is that it relies heavily on just a few countries for the bulk of its enrolments.

In light of State and Federal financial assistance packages that are supporting World Youth Day to the tune of at least $100 million, it is our view that similar financial incentives should be considered relating to overseas students and to the higher education market overall, in this case through concession travel entitlements on public transport. State and Federal incentives must be provided to the international higher education market to expand growth in that sector and to protect the economic interests of this State. This Government would be wise to commission a Treasury study to report on the economic consequences of declining enrolments from international students, and on the budgetary estimate of providing concession entitlements for full-time full fee paying international students.