New Coalition education spokesperson Jonathon Duniam says Peter Dutton policy to slash international enrolments not ‘as constructive as it could have been’

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

The Coalition has walked away from its call for Australia to slash 80,000 international students from higher education institutions, with the opposition’s education spokesperson promising a more “sensitive” approach after the party’s crushing election defeat in May.

During the federal election campaign, the then-opposition leader, Peter Dutton, claimed that cutting foreign student numbers would free up more housing and rental opportunities. Dutton said students were “taking up accommodation that should be occupied by Australian citizens”.

The approach was heavily criticised by the university sector and described by tertiary bodies as “isolationist” and akin to the “Donald Trump anti-migration card”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Jonathon Duniam on Sunday conceded the policy under Dutton wasn’t “as constructive as it could have otherwise been” as the Coalition continued to review its platform.

“Obviously, those numbers were part of a discussion that occurred before an election we lost,” the new education spokesperson told ABC TV.

“I don’t think that any university should, as some have, use international students as a cash cow. That’s not appropriate because it’s not a good business model, but we need to recognise that a large part of the funding, for especially regional universities, comes from international students.

“So a more sensitive conversation needs to be had, and we will work with the sector and the government about that.”

Labor also wants to reduce international student numbers, with a plan to drive down enrolments to a maximum of 270,000 in 2025.

The shadow education minister also indicated on Sunday that the Coalition had softened its position on other education policies, including past opposition to the Albanese government’s plan to wipe 20% off students’ Hecs debts.

Duniam said the Coalition accepted Australians “had their say” at the election.

“We’ve got to move on,” he said on Sunday.

The opposition’s position on potential changes to the school system came under fire after Dutton pledged to “restore” a curriculum focused on “critical thinking, responsible citizenship and common sense” in his budget speech reply.

While a clear policy or proposal was never announced or released, Dutton suggested students were being “indoctrinated” at school and floated that federal funding to schools could be conditional on adherence to curriculum teaching rather than “guided into some sort of an agenda that’s come out of universities”.

Duniam said his focus was on improving key metrics, such as maths, reading and science, rather than “specific elements of the curriculum”.

Sign up to Breaking News Australia

Get the most important news as it breaks

“I think the rest of it will fall away if we’re focusing on the priorities of getting kids out of schools with the best marks possible so they can go into university or higher education at the best standard possible and become the best graduates,” Duniam said.

“Then that will deal with all of the issues people have complaints around, including the ‘woke’ issues, as they’re called.”

A number of Coalition MPs and senators have remained vocal supporters of a push to ban transgender women from female sports, including Duniam’s Senate colleague Claire Chandler.

When asked whether it was an issue he shared with his colleagues, the senator said it deserved an “adult debate” but that he did not believe it was up to him to decide how schools should facilitate arrangements.

“I honestly believe that girls’ sports should be for girls, boys’ sports for boys. And if you have a mixed grouping, then that’s something you can arrange by competition or in a school arrangement,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s for me to set down who should participate in what sport.”

In late June, the shadow immigration minister, Paul Scarr, promised a new tone when talking about migrants as the Liberal party worked to rebuild support among multicultural communities.

“One of the things I am passionate about is getting the tone of discussion right – I think that is of critical importance,” Scarr told Guardian Australia.

“And any discussion of immigration must proceed, in my view, on the basis of the contribution that’s been made to this country by so many people who have come to this country as migrants.”

Source: www.theguardian.com