Petition Debate - Make transport concessions available to all students in NSW

Summary

新南威尔士州议会正在进行一场辩论，讨论是否应将旅行优惠扩展到所有学生，包括国际学生和兼职学生。绿党代表提出了一项请愿书，该请愿书得到了21,6名新南威尔士州居民的支持，他们主张结束对这些学生群体的歧视。国际学生和兼职学生对新南威尔士州经济有重大贡献，但目前他们面临着高昂的交通、住房和生活成本。尽管存在预算压力，但政府被敦促重新考虑其立场，并认识到为这些学生提供旅行优惠的紧迫性。议会成员强调了国际学生对文化多样性、创新研究以及与其他国家建立关系的重要性，并指出他们通常没有车辆，依赖公共交通。目前，新南威尔士州是唯一没有为国际学生提供任何形式交通优惠的州。议会成员表示，尽管当前预算环境下无法扩展旅行优惠，但他们愿意在未来就此问题进行合作。

Takeaways

• 📝 议员代表绿党提出，新南威尔士州的所有学生，包括国际学生，应获得旅行优惠，以结束现有的歧视现象。
• 🗣️ 21,6名新南威尔士州居民支持这一提案，强调旅行优惠的公平性对于学生至关重要。
• 💰 国际学生和兼职学生对新南威尔士州经济有显著贡献，包括税收、商品服务税和高额学费。
• 🚍 公共交通成本上升，对经济压力大的学生群体（包括国际学生）构成了额外的负担。
• 🎓 许多现任政府部长在大学时期曾支持旅行优惠，现在应继续支持这一政策。
• ⚖️ 2006年，新南威尔士州行政法庭裁定，不为全额支付海外大学生提供公共交通优惠违反了反歧视法。
• 👥 国际学生和兼职学生面临的财务压力与全职学生相同，他们应获得相同的旅行优惠。
• 🏛️ 政府认识到国际学生的价值，但目前由于预算压力，无法立即提供旅行优惠。
• 🌐 国际学生不仅对教育部门有经济贡献，还促进了国际关系和创新。
• 🏢 国际学生在新南威尔士州的租房市场中占比约4%，不应将住房短缺归咎于他们。
• 📉 政府面临的预算挑战和经济压力意味着目前无法扩展旅行优惠至国际学生，但未来可能会考虑。

Q & A

新南威尔士州的旅行优惠为何对所有学生都很重要？

新南威尔士州的旅行优惠对所有学生都很重要，因为它们可以减轻学生的经济压力，特别是对于国际学生和兼职学生，他们面临着高昂的学费、住宿费和日常生活费用。此外，旅行优惠可以促进教育的公平性，结束目前存在的歧视现象。

为什么说新南威尔士州政府忽视旅行优惠的公平性是不可接受的？

新南威尔士州政府忽视旅行优惠的公平性是不可接受的，因为许多现任部长在大学时期曾是学生领袖，他们曾积极参与支持旅行优惠的活动。现在作为政府官员，他们有责任和机会结束对国际学生和兼职学生的不公平待遇。

国际学生和兼职学生对新南威尔士州经济有何贡献？

国际学生和兼职学生对新南威尔士州经济有显著贡献。他们支付税费、GST和高额学费，同时他们的消费也促进了当地经济的发展。此外，他们通过工作填补了零售和服务业的职位空缺，对经济和社会都产生了积极影响。

为什么说对国际学生和兼职学生不提供旅行优惠是歧视性的？

2006年，悉尼大学研究生协会曾将新南威尔士州政府告上法庭，挑战不向全额支付海外大学生提供优惠公共交通服务的歧视性政策。新南威尔士行政法庭裁定这一政策违反了反歧视法。因此，不向这些学生提供旅行优惠确实构成歧视。

新南威尔士州政府如何回应旅行优惠的歧视问题？

面对旅行优惠的歧视问题，当时的新南威尔士州工党政府并没有消除交通管理法中的歧视，而是将交通管理法从反歧视法中豁免，从而继续维持不对国际学生提供旅行优惠的政策。

为什么说国际学生和兼职学生面临财务压力？

国际学生和兼职学生面临财务压力，因为他们需要支付高额的学费、房租和其他生活费用。此外，许多学生可能需要额外的工作来支持自己的学习和生活，这增加了他们的压力。

新南威尔士州政府如何支持国际学生？

新南威尔士州政府通过提供Opal网络的公共交通服务的定额补贴来支持国际学生，尽管这并不能完全解决他们的财务压力，但这是一种帮助。政府还强调了国际学生对社区和经济的重要性，并表示愿意听取和考虑改善他们待遇的提议。

为什么说国际学生对新南威尔士州的教育和经济至关重要？

国际学生对新南威尔士州的教育和经济至关重要，因为他们不仅为大学带来学费收入，还通过工作和消费为当地经济做出贡献。他们还促进了文化多样性和国际关系，有助于建立国家间的长期伙伴关系。

为什么新南威尔士州政府目前无法为国际学生和兼职学生提供旅行优惠？

新南威尔士州政府目前无法为国际学生和兼职学生提供旅行优惠，主要是因为预算压力和经济挑战。政府需要优先考虑改善公共交通服务的频率、可靠性和韧性，同时确保对固定和低收入人群的公共交通补贴。

新南威尔士州政府如何计划解决旅行优惠问题？

新南威尔士州政府计划通过参与独立定价和监管法庭（IPART）关于Opal票价的审查过程来解决旅行优惠问题。一旦IPART确定了新的票价结构，政府可能会有更多的空间来考虑如何提供新的优惠。

为什么说国际学生在争取旅行优惠的斗争中扮演了重要角色？

国际学生在争取旅行优惠的斗争中扮演了重要角色，因为他们是政策影响的直接受益者。他们通过发起和支持请愿活动，展示了对改善自己和未来学生待遇的承诺。此外，他们的勇气和努力对于推动社会和政策变革至关重要。

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ 议会辩论：学生交通优惠

新南威尔士州的议员在辩论中强烈支持为所有学生提供交通优惠，特别是国际学生和兼职学生。他指出，许多现任政府部长曾在大学时支持此类优惠，现在他们有责任实现这一变革。该议员批评现政府对国际学生的待遇，尤其是在交通和生活成本方面的不公，并强调解决这一问题的迫切性。

05:01

📜 教育部长发言：国际学生的价值

教育部长在议会中表达了对国际学生的赞赏，强调他们为新南威尔士州带来的文化多样性和经济贡献。尽管面临预算压力，使得扩展交通优惠面临挑战，他仍希望能找到解决方案。部长批评了针对国际学生的一些负面舆论，并重申了他们在租赁市场中的影响有限，强调政策失误是住房问题的主因。

10:03

🌍 悉尼议员支持国际学生

悉尼的议员呼吁公平对待国际学生，确保他们能够获得基本的交通服务。她详细描述了国际学生对新南威尔士州经济的巨大贡献，包括教育、租赁市场和消费支出。议员提出，考虑到国际学生的经济贡献和社会影响，应给予他们与其他学生相同的交通优惠。

15:03

🚌 辩论关于公共交通优惠的持续

在关于交通优惠政策的持续辩论中，一个议员强调了国际学生对社会和经济的贡献。他指出，虽然目前的政策允许学生获得一定的交通优惠，但国际学生和兼职学生仍然面临不公平的待遇。他提到，尽管有压力，但必须考虑更广泛的公共服务支持和维护的问题。

20:04

🏛️ 议会响应学生交通优惠请愿

许多议员在会议上表达了对增加学生交通优惠的支持，尤其是为国际学生和兼职学生。尽管州政府面临预算和经济压力，他们承认改善公共交通系统的必要性，以及为最需要的人群提供支持。此外，讨论了通过独立定价和监管机构来评估交通费用，以寻求在预算限制下的解决方案。

25:05

📣 结束对国际学生的差别待遇

在对交通优惠政策的最后辩论中，一名议员呼吁结束对国际学生和兼职学生的歧视。他强调，为未来的国际学生争取变革是必要的。

Keywords

💡旅行优惠

旅行优惠指的是对特定人群提供的公共交通费用减免。在视频中，讨论了新南威尔士州是否应将旅行优惠扩展到所有学生，包括国际学生和兼职学生，以减轻他们的生活成本压力。

💡国际学生

国际学生是指那些离开自己国家到另一个国家接受教育的学生。视频中提到，国际学生对新南威尔士州的经济贡献显著，他们支付高额学费、税费，并在生活费用上面临压力。

💡兼职学生

兼职学生是指那些不能或选择不进行全日制学习的学生。视频中提到，这部分学生可能由于经济压力或其他责任而无法全职学习，他们在交通费用上也需要得到支持。

💡生活成本

生活成本指的是个人或家庭为维持日常生活所需的全部开支。视频辩论中强调了学生，尤其是国际学生和兼职学生，在住房、食品和日常必需品上的高昂生活成本。

💡歧视

歧视是指基于种族、性别、年龄或其他特征对个人或群体的不公平对待。视频中讨论了新南威尔士州在公共交通优惠方面对国际学生和兼职学生的不公平待遇。

💡经济贡献

经济贡献指的是个人、群体或组织对一个国家或地区的经济发展所做的贡献。视频中提到，国际学生和兼职学生通过支付学费和税费对新南威尔士州经济有重大贡献。

💡预算压力

预算压力是指政府在财政预算管理中遇到的挑战，通常与收入减少或支出增加有关。视频中提到，新南威尔士州政府面临的预算压力是未能立即向国际学生和兼职学生提供旅行优惠的原因之一。

💡公共交通

公共交通是指为公众提供运输服务的系统，如公交车、火车和地铁等。视频中讨论了公共交通对学生的学习和生活的重要性，以及对旅行优惠的需求。

💡政策改革

政策改革是指对现有政策进行的修改或改进，以提高效率、公平性或响应社会需求。视频中提到了对现行旅行优惠政策的改革呼声，以结束对某些学生群体的不公平待遇。

💡学生签证

学生签证是指允许非本国公民在目的国学习的一种签证类型。视频中提到，申请学生签证时，国际学生需要证明他们有足够的资金来支付学费和生活费用。

💡公平性

公平性是指在对待个人或群体时保持公正和不偏不倚。视频中强调了为所有学生提供旅行优惠的重要性，以确保他们都能获得公平的待遇。

Highlights

新南威尔士州的绿党代表提出了一项请愿书，要求为所有学生提供旅行优惠，以结束对国际学生的歧视。

国际学生和兼职学生对新南威尔士州经济的贡献是显著的，他们支付税费、商品服务税和高额学费。

国际学生和兼职学生面临的生活成本压力与所有学生一样，包括交通、住房和日常必需品的费用。

2006年，悉尼大学研究生协会曾将新南威尔士州政府告上法庭，挑战其对国际学生的歧视性政策。

当时的工党政府并未消除交通管理法中的歧视，而是将该法案从反歧视法中豁免。

国际学生因兼职工作、照顾责任或残疾而无法全职学习，他们同样面临财务压力。

新南威尔士州副州长委员会和多所大学及其学生组织支持为国际学生和兼职学生提供旅行优惠。

新南威尔士州交通部长曾表示，当前的交通优惠模式已经过时且不公平。

国际学生对澳大利亚的文化多样性、经验和知识贡献巨大，对建立国家间伙伴关系至关重要。

国际教育是新南威尔士州的第二大出口产业，对经济至关重要。

国际学生在澳大利亚面临签证问题，这不公平地影响了新南威尔士州的一些大学。

国际学生在新南威尔士州租房市场中所占比例约为4%，将住房短缺归咎于他们的说法被夸大了。

新南威尔士州政府目前因预算压力无法扩展交通优惠至国际学生和兼职学生。

尽管无法立即提供更多优惠，但政府未来可能会与倡导者合作解决这一重要问题。

独立定价和监管法庭（IPART）将审查Opal票价，并在2024年6月提供报告，届时将有公众听证会。

请愿者和倡导者被鼓励参与IPART流程，为未来可能的交通优惠提供意见。

国际学生和兼职学生争取旅行优惠的斗争尚未结束，将继续争取他们的权利。

Transcripts

now the question is that the the house

take note of the debate and I call the

member for new

town thank you speaker I rise on behalf

of the greens and thank the

21,6 residents of New South Wales who

have raised their voices and given their

support for making travel concessions

available to all students in New South

Wales to present this petition to the

house and offer my L held support for

the idea that travel concession fairness

and an end to the Discrimination that is

currently existing in New South Wales

when it comes to travel concessions is

something that absolutely can no longer

be ignored by this New South Wales labor

government particularly because this New

South Wales labor government is known to

have more ex student leaders from

universities that would have joined

campus petitions and actions in support

of travel concessions when they were on

University campuses and they are now the

minister for transport the minister for

housing the treasurer I believe there

are many many many student leaders that

are now ministers in this government and

have stood for years and years decades

in support of travel concessions for

international students today transport

concessions are now more than ever

costing a fortune for people who are

studying the cost of Transport the cost

of housing Food daily Essentials is at

an astronomical level and with many

facing a crisis students are often

facing cost of living stresses that are

higher and bigger ger than ever before

and I want to acknowledge that it is no

easy feat to get a petition debate in

this chamber and you'll note those on

the other side really don't want to

listen because they're feeling very

uncomfortable about the fact that they

know that the right and just thing to do

is to deliver transport concessions for

international students but no when

they're in opposition they say they love

it when they're in student politics they

say they love it but when they get into

the government and they can finally make

decisions ooh it might cost a little bit

too much well let's just have a look at

the costs that are here and what is

available let us just look at the fact

that we know that the contribution that

International students and part-time

students make to the economy of New

South Wales is significant International

students and part-time students they pay

tax they pay GST they pay astronomical

student fees to be able to study and we

know that part-time students even if

they are citizens of this country often

often are not in a position to be able

to study full-time because of the

financial pressures on them because of

their caring responsibilities because

their students with disabilities why

should those students be discriminated

against and I use the term

discriminatory very carefully because in

2006 and yes I was also a student

politician and I was the president of

the Sydney University postgraduate

Association and the Sydney University

postgraduate Association took the New

South Wales government to the

enat to the tribunal to challenge the

discriminatory policy that held and the

the the New South Wales administrative

decisions tribunal held that and I quote

the longstanding policy of not providing

full fee paying overseas University

students with concessional travel on

public transport services contravenes

the anti-discrimination act it is

discrimination so what does the then

labor government do oh no they don't

move to to get rid of the Discrimination

in the transport Administration act they

carve out the transport Administration

act from the anti-discrimination ACT

they exempt the transport act from the

Discrimination Act so that they can keep

not allowing travel concessions to be

paid by be accessed by International

students more and more students are

forced to reduce Ru their study because

of part-time workloads we need to

recognize that it is not just

International students but also

part-time students who need to pick up

an extra shift in their retail or

Hospitality job or have caring

responsibilities who are also facing

these Financial pressures it is not just

the students that are in the chamber

today that are calling for this

2,061 residents of New South Wales

supported it and the minister for

transport who I note is in the chamber

and I appreciate her being in the

chamber for this debate will know that

it wasn't just students that are calling

for this as well in fact the New South

Wales Vice Chancellor's committee wrote

to the minister in support of part-time

student and international student travel

concessions universities across New

South Wales and their student

organizations are in support of this

change in fact indeed the New South

Wales transport Minister herself who as

I noted was also a University of Sydney

uh student president at one point in

time only a few years ago in a private

member statement in this chamber

addressed us and said that the current

model of Transport concessions is

outdated and unfair and called for a

system of public transport concessions

that addresses the injustices of

international students and part-time

students I acknowledge that the trans

Min is supportive of that and I hope

call the

member Madam Deputy speaker uh I'm

rising to speak on this as Minister

responsible for tertiary education in

New South Wales uh the minister for

transport will also be responding uh to

the petition and talking a little bit

more about um the the cost pressures on

the system and uh and some of the actual

issues around uh the transport

concessions and the way they work uh

from my point of view I want to um

emphasize for our International students

how much new South Bales appreciates

them uh we we very much appreciate the

international students who come into our

community who bring with them them their

cultural diversity who bring with them

their experiences and often take back

home to their own country a knowledge

and uh of Australia which is incredibly

useful in developing the Partnerships

between our countries it's something

that I think is important to um

highlight at the moment because uh there

is a number of issues which are

affecting International students in

Australia at the moment which I think

are somewhat negative and uh and some um

some publicity around them which uh

which I think U needs to be addressed

with um with government talking about uh

why we do value the presence of

international students in Australia I've

come back to that of course the minister

of Transport uh and um uh the member for

cesn I believe from the government point

of view will talk a little bit about uh

the way that we support uh students at

the moment and uh and the reason why

while I think we would very much like to

be able to extend transport concessions

uh there are cost pressures on and

budget pressures that make that

difficult at the moment uh so it is

something which does have a significant

cost which I'm sure we'll hear more

about later but of course International

students and part-time students are able

to access the capping the capped amounts

for are the opal Network for public

transport in New South Wales which is

helpful um but I absolutely acknowledge

that cost of living pressures apply just

as much to International students as

they do to every other student uh and

that goes through from the cost of food

and accommodation but what I wanted to

uh one of the things which I really

wanted to highlight here is that um

we've seen some recent uh um discussion

in media which seeks to blame

International students for things like

housing shortages and uh and I think

that's completely overblown as somebody

who thinks that it is really important

that we do have international students

in New South Wales I want to express my

support for the students who are coming

back to New South Wales particularly

after the co disruptions that we s to

that um International students according

to the property Council and the student

accommodation council's recent report

make up about 4% of the rental market uh

so it's hard to say that that's a driver

the real driver of of accommodation

problems in New South Wales in Australia

is poor policy over many years and a

failure to plan and uh and I think that

it's important for us not to be putting

the blame onto people who actually have

no uh say over those issues um as I said

we very much value the contribution

International students make I I remember

visiting a Chinese Mining Company in one

of my previous portfolios in a previous

Incarnation and um and and being and

meeting somebody who' studied in

Australia and that really helped their

understanding of how Australia worked

and how the links could be uh brought

together uh so that's really important

and from the point of view of the New

South Wales economy International uh

education educational exports are our

second biggest export from New South

Wales uh they are our biggest service

export they're absolutely vital and it

really concerns me as New South Wales

Minister responsible for tertiary

education that we're seeing uh some um

some uh Visa issues at the moment which

are which I think are unfairly impacting

on some of our universities in New South

Wales and unfairly impacting on some

countries that are are the source

countries for our International students

uh and I'd really like to see uh the

federal government while while I support

their uh moves to make sure that people

are coming for genuine educational

reasons that they um are not uh seeing

that carry across to our universities

which are excellent educational

institutions and carefully choose which

students are eligible to come to

Australia to make their contribution so

um I'm very sympathetic to the issues

that you're raising uh I um I think the

minister for transport will address them

in some more detail but I do thank uh

eia petition which enabled me to uh

address some other issues and uh and um

the uh the member opposite or uh for

bringing it along to the

Parliament and I call the member for

Sydney thank you very much um Madame

Deputy speaker I I want to join um other

members um in welcoming all of the

students here and thank them for their

leadership in getting this petition of

over 20,000 signatures to the parliament

it really demonstrates how this needs to

be on the agenda of the New South Wales

Parliament and thank the member for New

Town for sponsoring the petition and

speaking so strongly to it um and I want

to also welcome International students

to the state and to Sydney and to call

for their fair treatment in accessing

essential Transport Services the number

of international students enrolled in

New South Wales education institutions

has been growing since the pandemic and

reached over 220,000 in January

representing over a third of all

International students in Australia most

study in the city and in the inner South

International students are are a vital

part of our economy they spend billions

in student tuition fees providing the

main source of income for universities

vital to maintaining our world-class

tertiary education system the

contribution to the education sector is

of course more than just financial and

includes the New Perspectives and ideas

they bring to class by the virtue of

their diverse background fostering

Innovation and research and broadening

the knowledge of all other students

international student programs help

Foster international relations between

Australia and other countries many

graduates will go on to be leaders when

they return home and if they have

established relationships in Australia

it could help in political economic

trade and cultural negotiations

furthermore if students have a good

experience they are likely to return

with their friends and family for a

holiday or even hopefully immigrate to

Australia the economic benefits of

international students go beyond their

contribution to the education sector

the ABS calculated the overall

contribution to the New South Wales

economy at over $13 million last

Financial year as you know International

students work hard to fill jobs like in

the food and beverage cleaning and

deliveries and spend billions on rant

hospitality and Retail they all they

also significantly contribute to their

neighbors with areas around education

institutions vibrant making areas around

um education in institutions vibrant

places at night as International

students eat at local restaurants in my

electorate this is especially the case

in permont altimo hey market and the CBD

students come from across the globe

including from China India Brazil

Colombia and Indonesia my own husband

came to Australia as an international

student from Germany many International

students come from families who have

saved long and hard to give them the

opportunity to study overseas in

Australia in New South Wales in Sydney

some going into debt to do this students

who work are usually on the minimum wage

un Limited hours and much of their pay

is spent on the high rents and other

high living and student expenses they

are no more financially well off than

local students International students

rely on public transport to get them to

and from education work and social

activities they are unlikely to have

access to a car because of the rental

crisis if they are not successful in

securing student accommodation they

often live um far from their place of

Education yet New South Wales is the

only jurisdiction in the country that

does not offer any form of concession or

discounted transport to intern

International students requiring them to

pay full fairs last year opal fairs

increase on average by

3.7% the current adult weekly travel cap

of $50 is now double the concession cap

of

$25 as contrib to our economy our

society International students should be

no less eligible for travel concessions

than other students it is discrimination

to refuse them this basic subsidy the

city of Sydney recognizes the

significant value of international

students and recently passed a motion in

support of this petition and I

acknowledge the work of councelor Hy

William Chan on bringing that and also

the supportive of counselor Sylvia

Ellmore as well about 40% of all

education providers in the state are

located in the city of Sydney including

over 550 education establishments such

as universities vocational and

educational training providers and

English language intensive courses we

want Isel students to have a good

experience studying here and we would

and we should help them avoid hardship

in what is becoming one of the most

expensive cities to live the budget

costs could be modest especially after

counting the benefits International

students with a good experience bring to

our city I thank the students

representative council and the cityne

university postgraduate representative

Association for creating this petition

and the member for New Town for bringing

it to this house International students

provide a massive contribution to our

state and I hope the government

recognizes their contribution and

urgently extends transport concessions

to them I call the member for

SES thank you very much speaker and um I

to rise to um acknowledge uh the

wonderful contributions that

International students make um to

everything that happens around not just

our universities but our societies at

large and obviously we've spoken about

the soft diplomacy that flows on um when

our International students either spend

more time here and and end up being

leaders of our local community or

whether they go home and become leaders

in their local community and and become

a a nice link back to this country and

um in particular uh I uh I recognize

those students who have been through

Newcastle Unity University which is a

little bit closer to home for me because

I come from the hunter Valley and some

of those students have um had incredible

success in their working life um and

indeed one of them uh continues to make

significant contributions back into that

University now as an alumni and and to

uh fund scholarships which is just

fantastic and and

welcomed um obviously uh the nature of

the the the petition is seeking to

expand transport concessions to all

tertiary students including

International students and parttime home

students the current concession fair for

eligible tertiary students is set at 50%

of the adult fair and uh and also capped

at $50 per week on the opal public uh

transport Travel

network um this approach is consistent

in every state only the Northern

Territory offers part-time or remote

students access to concession fairs on

their public services in Darwin and

Dallas

Springs while they have been numerous

requests to extend the concession fair

to International students over the years

legislation has been in place for

decades in your souw that restricts full

fee paying students from accessing the

same concession Fair as domestic

students this is because they are

required to provide evidence indicating

that they have sufficient funds to cover

both their education and living costs as

part of their student visa

applications the principles underpinning

underpinning the public trans concession

system in New South Wales is to ensure

that the benefits of the concession

fairs are directed to those that are

transport disadvantaged Andor

experiencing financial hardship each

year millions of dollars in public

transport concessions are provided to

assist people in those types of

need currently those that benefit from

these public transport concessions

include children school students

domestic tertiary students sentin League

benefit beneficiaries seniors pensioners

people with disabilities Asylum Seekers

and War

veterans that includes specific support

for tertiary students studying on

Australian government scholarships

Asylum Seekers and part-time domestic

students with

disability the New South Wales

government significantly subsidizes

public transport

services and those who cannot access

travel concessions are able to access

the same opal benefits as other adult

New South Wes residents including

unlimited travel on the network kep at

$50 per

week however public transport concession

resources have to be targeted and

prioritized New South Wales is facing a

significant economic Challenge and the

state of the budget in New South Wales

has been left in a dire and perilous

state by the former

government indeed one of the things that

wasn't done by the previous government

or wasn't done properly uh was

maintenance of our

Services uh safety on our public

transport lines in some instances we had

International contracted trains that

don't fit the tracks some of them were

properly fitted out with a safety

portals that they needed and there are a

wide range of other problems with some

of those contracts which has added to

the perilous state of the New South

Wales

budget however I note that there is

currently work under Away by the

independent priceing and Regulatory

tribunal to review opal fairs the

independent priceing and Regulatory

tribunal is better known as

ipart ipart will be providing their

draft report on UOP fairs in June

2024 and we'll be holding a series of

public hearings that month to talk about

what they propose these hearings provide

all members of our community with an

opportunity to have their say on the

pricing of public transport fairs across

the opal

Network once iart have made their

determination on a new opal pricing

structure there may be more capacity to

consider where and how new concession

fairs could be offered and to that end I

would encourage petitioners and

Advocates to contribute to that iart

process we're looking for another

speaker before the minister minister in

reply thank you speaker no I think Jenny

replies but um I want to thank everyone

who has signed this petition in

particular thank the member for New Town

for bringing it to this house look I

really want to acknowledge the passion

and the strength of feeling amongst

those advocating for reform and I also

want to thank uh many members of this

place colleagues who have raised this

issue with me uh in recent weeks I also

acknowledge that International students

that tertiary students are experiencing

the same cost of living pressures uh

that we all are and uh that that that

places significant pressure uh on them

and the way that they need to study work

and live here in New South Wales as uh

the minister and the member for cesn

outlined our government is facing

significant budget pressures we were

elected with a one

$88.2 billion debt um and we have

increased we have increased pressure

with the reduction in GST revenue from

the Commonwealth grants commission look

these are difficult times with difficult

choices and in transport um we inherited

a mess A system that was failing

passengers it was failing everyone and

so at this time our Focus does need to

be on improving those services on

expanding the frequency and reliability

of transport services and the resilience

of our Network now that is to the

benefit of everybody and we need to make

sure in particular uh we are supporting

our Frontline workers to provide is

essential public transport and other

services that we all rely on now speaker

the rationale for the approach for

international students concessions is

that under immigration requirements

International tertiary students are

required to demonstrate they have enough

funds to support both their tuition and

living expenses when applying for a

student visa part-time domestic tertiary

students and students who undertake

study externally or by correspondents

can undertake additional employment

hours while studing studying but I

acknowledge that the restrictions placed

Bas on working hours of international

students uh makes that very difficult

look I want people to understand that we

have provided significant subsidy for

fairs for people on fixed and low

incomes ensuring that some of the most

vulnerable people in our community have

access to public transport this includes

a 50% concession on the adult Fair

accessed by apprentices trainees

students and young people International

churchery students on scholarships are

fully funded by the Australian

government through the Australian award

scholarships and are entitled to access

tertiary student public transport

concessions look we want to make sure

including people with disability that

can access uh those concessions and as

previous speakers outlined we retain the

$50 week cap that International students

and part-time students can access look

taxpayers subsidize the operation of

public transport in New South Wales and

the iPod has showed that we only collect

25% of that Revenue speaker while my

time is brief I would conclude by saying

while we are not able to extend travel

concessions to International students

and part-time domestic students in the

current budget environment I certainly

wouldn't work out rule out working with

you in the future on this important

issue thank you and I apologize the

minister is in response and I call the

member for new Chan in reply thank you

speaker and I want to acknowledge and

thank again the 20, 61 students and

individuals and residents of New South

Wales who signed this petition to bring

this debate and I want to say that there

are many members here in the chamber and

also watching who have raised with me

and obviously raised with the minister

their strong views on how we need to

address this issue in the state of New

South Wales I want to thank uh the

members for Monaro and Minister uh for

skills ta and tertiary education the

members for cesn and the member for

Summer Hill and transport Minister for

contributing to the debate I also want

to acknowledge the member for Sydney and

acknowledge that my greens colleagues

the member for balain and member for

Bell who's our education spokes people

are here as as well I want to also

acknowledge that there are other members

in the chamber that I know feel

passionately about this issue but I want

to particularly take the time to

acknowledge and thank way Hong leang the

president of the Sydney University

postgraduate representative Association

has who has been coordinating this most

recent iteration of the campaign and

acknowledged the University of Sydney

SRC the University of Sydney Union the

University of New South Wales

postgraduate Council the student

representative council of unsw the UTS

Student Association the University of

New Castle Student Association and the

Western Sydney SRC as well as the New

South Wales Vice Chancellor's committee

and the nteu all who back this call for

finally see finally seeing an end to the

discrimination against International

students and part-time students when it

comes to travel concessions in this

state I want to also acknowledge the

fact that as an international student

taking the step to advocate for changes

while you're in this country is a risk

it's a risk to you personally and it

takes an effort to do so and it is a

willingness that you do selflessly

knowing that future generations of in

international students will benefit from

a change that you might not see and I

want to thank you for taking that braid

step today I want to acknowledge the

work you've done and can I say that from

with what we've heard today the campaign

to get international travel concessions

finally delivered and for part-time

students is not over and we will

continue this fight so congratulations

to you all and well done and may I on

behalf of the chamber just say thank you

to all of the guests in our gallery for

the respectful way that you have behaved

you um you give credit to International

students as ambassadors and I say thank

you thank you um the question is now

that the house take note of the petition

all of that opinion please say I to the

contary no I think the eyes have it the

eyes have it