Minister for Education the Hon Christopher Pyne MP and the Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton MP will visit the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at Charles Sturt University while in Dubbo.

They will also visit the University of Sydney’s School of Rural Health campus in Dubbo and meet with workers at the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Mr Pyne said that regional students and their communities will particularly benefit from the Australian Government’s higher education reforms introduced in this year’s Budget.

“Under these reforms the Australian Government will, for the first time ever, provide support to all students, in all higher education institutions, be they universities, colleges or those TAFEs registered as higher education providers, whether in the cities or the bush,” Mr Pyne said.

Mr Coulton said this is good news for the young people and businesses of the Parkes Electorate.

“This will mean local higher education providers such as the Australian Catholic University and Charles Sturt University can expand the range of courses they offer and to further improve the quality of courses,” Mr Coulton said.

“This may also see many local students paying less than they do now for their education as the Government supports more higher education options.

“The Government will now fund pathway and other diploma courses through universities and colleges that will help many more local people get a qualification that can be used outright or towards a university degree.

“This will mean more young people can study right here to get the skills local businesses and industries need,” Mr Coulton said.

Mr Pyne said thousands of students in the Electorate of Parkes will benefit from the Australian Government’s reforms in education.

“Since coming to office this government has worked to keep its commitments to all Australians, and nowhere more so than in communities like this,” Mr Pyne said.

“The Australian Government is honouring its commitments, investing record recurrent funding of $64.5 billion in government and non-government schools over the next four years.

“This includes an extra $1.2 billion that the previous government removed from schools in our most regional states.”

“I look forward to speaking about how this Government’s policies can help young people create brighter futures for themselves and their communities,” Mr Pyne said.