E&OE

EMMA REBELLATO: Good morning, Luke.

LUKE SHEEHY: Good morning, Emma.

EMMA REBELLATO: Let’s start with what the ABC understands that it’s an effective banning of international students bringing families to Australia. What would that mean for universities?

LUKE SHEEHY: Well, we’ll obviously look at the detail when Minister Tony Burke releases the full policy later today, but this is just a continuation of years of chipping away at Australia’s great national asset, which is international education that serves the country, serves the economy, helps fund our world-class universities and subsidises the education of nearly a million students. The intention of this policy is pretty clear; they want fewer international students. They want to slash the numbers coming into the country. That’ll have real consequences, both economic and for our relationships across the world.

EMMA REBELLATO: Yeah, just talk us through, first of all, the economic impact on universities. What could that mean if fewer international students come to Australia?

LUKE SHEEHY: For many decades, Commonwealth Governments of both political colors have encouraged universities to fund international students, so the Treasury gets a cut price deal on a world-class university system in this country. If you slash the number of international students, the simple next question is who is going to pay for the gap? It creates huge gaps in the way we fund our buildings, our teaching, and our important breakthrough research. We can transform our economy and the way we live. Real jobs are also on the line. So, I’m going to look at the details, but the question is fewer international students means a bigger gap in how we fund our world-class university system. And the next question for the government is, are you going to step up and pay for it?

EMMA REBELLATO: Given we have had a lot of debate, not just about international students, but also migration overall and the visas and what numbers could look like and the cuts that could be made, what sort of effect does that have on international relationships, particularly with universities, with other countries?

LUKE SHEEHY: Well, for decades, we’ve created this wonderful national asset and we welcome students from over 140 countries across the world, the vast majority who go home to become leaders in their home countries but leave with a lifelong affinity and affection for the Australian people and the Australian continent. I think this is going to do lasting damage. We have already seen the world’s highest visa application fees. We’re sending the wrong signals at a time when international students can help turbocharge not only our universities, the way we operate, but our skills base for the future. Half of our PhD students in science and technology are international students. We need those highly skilled workers and highly skilled researchers in our economy. I’m deeply worried that we continue to chip away at the wonderful goodwill we have right across the world because of international education in this country. This is just yet another example of this today, and it’s deeply worrying.

EMMA REBELLATO: Luke, I’d like to ask you about One Nation’s migration policy too, because there are a couple of elements to that. The slashing of international student places but also graduates who wish to remain in Australia after studies. One Nation said that they would like to considerably slash that from 270,000 to 40,000. What impact would that have? Would that be a deterrent for students to come here at all?

LUKE SHEEHY: One Nation has simply just joined the conga line of the major parties in a race to the bottom to slash migration numbers. And who are cannon fodders in this? That’s international students. We need high skilled workers in this country, and we simply can’t educate all of them all at once. One Nation’s policies would be devastating. We would see campuses closed, thousands of real jobs of Australians lost, jobs in hospitality and tourism lost, and the skills that we need for the future, that we can get from training international students or bringing them into the country, lost as well. This would be a devastating policy. But sadly, Emma, it just joins in what we’ve seen from both the Government and the Coalition on a race to the bottom. I just want all political parties to have a really long think about whether or not we want a world-class university system to deliver for this country and how we’re going to fund it. International students are absolutely important to that, but they are also important to driving the skills, productivity, and the broader agenda we have in Australia. A future made in Australia, an energy transformation, a technological transformation. We can’t do that without having skills from right across the world coming into this country.

EMMA REBELLATO: Luke, have you spoken with the Minister Tony Burke about this and put forward your arguments for why international student numbers should not be touched?

LUKE SHEEHY: I’ve made it clear to most of the government ministers how much I support a strong and robust and growing international education system that can support our economy and our world-class university system. I’ll be there at the National Press Club today waiting for the further details on the speech, and I look forward to taking the case up further with Minister Burke in the coming weeks.

EMMA REBELLATO: Luke, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

LUKE SHEEHY: Great to be with you.