The Australian Government must reassess its international student intake, both for the good of the nation and the students themselves, writes William Bourke.
Many Australians have had the pleasure of hosting international students, including my parents who for over a decade. welcomed around 20 homestay students into our family home. It was an enriching experience for all and in particular my parents, who subsequently travelled to several Asian countries to attend weddings and other important events in those peoples' lives.
I recently asked Mum how many of their students returned home after studying in Australia. It was all but one. The exception is a Japanese student who married her Australian partner. But this was all before the Howard Government's push to make universities and higher education more self-sustaining in the late 1990s.
Following the withdrawal of funds from our higher education sector, international students were increasingly targeted as a commodity to help pay the bills. At the same time, the Howard Government created huge incentives for these students to seek permanent residency through a variety of educational qualifications.