Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) (19:05:29): On 15 June the University of New South Wales [UNSW] faced the daunting task of informing its staff that nearly 500 full-time equivalent staff would be made redundant. That figure represents over 7 per cent of all staff at the university. UNSW was forced to take this extraordinary step in order to meet $370 million funding shortfall. We are living through unprecedented times and it is essential that we support our key institutions so that they survive this crisis and can play their prominent role supporting our economy and society to recover from this pandemic, and so we can try to protect as many jobs as possible.

At a time when we are projected to see double digit unemployment figures, we should be doing everything in our power to protect and save every job. Instead, what we have seen from this Government is a failure to listen, to act and to protect thousands of jobs in this State. My electorate is home to a large number of academic, professional and support staff from the University of New South Wales, many of whom have reached out to me to express concern about how universities and staff are being treated by the State and Federal governments.

In my electorate alone we are talking about hundreds of people; across New South Wales we are talking about thousands. Those people may be without a job in a matter of weeks. They may then begin to struggle to pay their rent or mortgages or buy groceries. Currently, they are receiving no support from the Federal Government and no advocacy from State Government members to their Federal colleagues. Nationwide, universities are the source of 260,000 full-time equivalent jobs. They contribute more than $41 billion to our national economy every year. As our third largest export, universities are a huge driver of Australia's economic, scientific and social progress.

All of this is at risk if we continue to stand by and watch our universities struggle through the biggest economic shock in living memory without the support of their government. While the brain drain on Australia's academic and research industries could take decades to repair, this impact will be amplified in our regions. Universities are the cornerstone of many regional communities, providing over 14,000 regional jobs. The University of New England, the University of Wollongong, the University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University employ thousands of staff from the regions in which they are based. If those jobs are cut from universities, the academic and professional staff that are let go may be forced to relocate; therefore, removing workers from the economy, removing their kids from local schools and removing their contribution from their communities.

In Victoria, we have seen the State Government provide over $450 million to the tertiary sector, a figure 12 times larger than the contribution made by this Government. The best this Government has to offer is commercial loans, which is a failed model it continues to flog. In addition, instead of stumping up the direct financial support required, the New South Wales Government continues to refer back to tertiary funding being the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. But where is the advocacy? Why have we not seen the Minister stand up for the jobs in his sector? Why have we not seen the Minister publically call out his Federal colleagues for not including over 140,000 academic and professional jobs in the JobKeeper program? Why have we not we seen the Minister stand up for the jobs of his former colleagues at the University of Western Sydney, or the Premier stand up for the jobs of her former lecturers at the University of New South Wales?

Across the board we are looking at tens of thousands of livelihoods being destroyed. Universities are critical to us dealing with this urgent health crisis and they are going to be just as critical to our health and economic recovery. The UNSW is the birthplace for many doctors, nurses and health experts that go on to work at Prince of Wales hospital across the road. Across Australia, universities are leading the way to find a vaccine and new treatment for COVID-19. When this pandemic started the UNSW established a rapid research fund straight off the bat to address the diagnostic, therapeutic and containment challenges of COVID-19 as well as the long‑term social and economic impacts. If that does not constitute essential work in the current environment, I do not know what does.

The Opposition recognises how crucial it is to support our universities and their staff and is calling on the Government to come to the table. At a minimum, it should provide the same support that the Victorian Government is providing through its packages. It is time for the Government to stop deflecting and take real action to save those jobs. Why have we not seen the Minister stand up for the jobs of his former colleagues at the University of Western Sydney? Why have we not seen the Premier stand up for the jobs of her former lecturers at UNSW? We are looking at tens of thousands of livelihoods being destroyed across the board.

Universities are critical to dealing with the current urgent health crisis and they are going to be just as critical to our health and economic recovery. The UNSW is the birthplace of many doctors, nurses and health experts who go on to work at the Prince of Wales Hospital across the road. Across Australia universities are leading the way to find a vaccine and a treatment for COVID‑19. When this started, straight off the bat the UNSW established a Rapid Response Research Fund to address the diagnostic, therapeutic and containment challenges of COVID‑19 as well as the long-term social and economic impacts. If this does not constitute essential work in this current environment, I do not know what does. The Opposition recognises how crucial it is to support our universities and their staff and it is calling on the Government to come to the table. At a minimum the Government should provide the same support that the Victorian Government is providing through its packages. It is time for the Government to stop deflecting and take real action to save these jobs.