Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said political parties competing to cut international student numbers needed to be honest about what Australia would lose.

“A vote for dramatically fewer international students is a vote for a poorer, less skilled Australia,” Mr Sheehy said.

“You can’t take skills, jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity out of the country and pretend there will be no consequences.

“International education is one of Australia’s biggest exports. It supports jobs across the economy, helps build the skilled workforce we desperately need and strengthens our relationships around the world.

“It also helps keep our universities going.

“For years, governments have asked universities to do more while public funding has failed to keep pace with the cost of teaching, research and infrastructure. International education has helped fill that gap.

“If politicians want to rip that revenue out of the system, they need to tell Australians what replaces it.

“Who pays for the research? Who funds the courses and campuses? What happens to university jobs? And where do we find the nurses, engineers, teachers and technology workers Australia needs?

“Those are the questions One Nation needs to answer today – and they are the same questions Labor and the Coalition need to answer as this race to the bottom continues.

“Australia should be competing for the world’s best students and the skills, investment and ideas they bring – not competing to see who can drive them away fastest.”

Universities Australia will continue advocating for a stable, high-integrity and internationally competitive international education system, alongside sustainable funding for Australia’s universities.