I am part of 'Generation HECS', that group of graduates who have accumulated debt for no other reason that their decision to broaden their knowledge. But I covet this portfolio, not simply as a former campus president, but as someone who is unshakeably committed to the belief that education is a right and that education, be it primary, secondary or tertiary, is a community resource. But that legacy of the Whitlam era was under threat when I arrived on campus in the late 1980s. The Democrats were, and remain, the only party to recognise that the concept of students as consumers is a distortion. In undertaking their studies, students not only seek qualifications to assist with employment, but are also broadening their political, cultural and social horizons.
Education offers empowerment.
It is one way that individuals can affect their own destinies. Nor should young people struggling to find work in today's workforce be told by the media, or anyone else, to 'get a haircut'. Mr President, it is often said that some cultures have a special respect for the aged. I think our society has a special fear of the young. They are so often stigmatised as lazy, unappreciative of parents, easily lured to drugs, and uncaring about their country, their history and their language.