Ms MACKLIN (2:42 PM) —My question is to the Minister for Education, Science and Training. Minister, is it not a fact that Queensland Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce has been calling for a compromise on the minister’s extreme antistudent service legislation and suggested on ABC radio last month, ‘What we have to do is allow the’—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop —I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. There has been a long tradition of rulings that says that preambles to questions are really quite out of order. The preamble to this question is really an indulgence and a piece of debate, not a question. It is quite out of order.

The SPEAKER —The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will come to her question.

Ms MACKLIN —He said, ‘What we have to do is allow the university to raise an amenities fee.’

The SPEAKER —The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will come to her question.

Ms MACKLIN —Minister, isn’t this a reasonable compromise that would save student services, provide for optional membership of student organisations and ensure that the service fee is administered by universities and spent only on services that benefit students? Will the minister support Labor’s amendment to deliver sporting facilities, child care, counselling and other social services?

The SPEAKER —Order! In calling the Minister for Education, Science and Training, the first part of that question was out of order, but the second part you may answer.

Mr Beazley —Mr Speaker, I want to take a point of order on this. The first part of the question was a question. The preamble was a question, and it said, ‘Minister, isn’t it a fact that Queensland Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce’ et cetera. Why is that out of order?

The SPEAKER —I will rule on that point of order. The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. As the Leader of the Opposition would be well aware, under standing order 100 there is no requirement for a minister to answer questions on the comments of colleagues. I have called the minister to answer the second part of the question.

Ms Gillard —Mr Speaker, on a point of order: can I indicate to you, as indicated by the Leader of the Opposition, that a comment on someone else’s views was not being sought. The minister was being asked to confirm that the statement had been made and that that was a fact.

The SPEAKER —The Manager of Opposition Business will resume her seat. I have ruled on that point already, and I am calling the minister to answer the relevant part of the question.

Dr NELSON (Minister for Education, Science and Training) —I thank the member for Jagajaga for the question. The government is determined to see that Australia’s 715,000 university students will from next year be free to choose whether they will join a student union, guild or association or whether they will not join it. In fact, that is a principle that goes right across this government: that every Australian should be free to join and be represented by a union or, alternatively, to not join that union and to purchase services or seek representation wherever they like. That is the fundamental principle here, and this is why the Labor Party is so concerned: because it knows that come January next year, when this legislation will have been passed, when those Australians turn up at a university campus to get an education and they are given the choice of joining the union, guild or association—whether it is the toga club, the abseiling club or the rowing club—most of them will want to exercise the right to be free to choose.

The Labor Party is taking the arrogant position that says that young adult Australians in the 21st century are in some way incapable of making a decision as to what they will spend their hard-earned money on. I will tell the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition one thing I know—in fact, I will tell you two facts. I would like to know how many people are sitting behind the Leader of the Opposition that do not support Labor’s opposition to tax cuts, and how many people are sitting behind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition who are totally opposed to Labor’s hit list on private schools? When you have sorted that out, then start asking us some questions.