Liberal Senator Jim Molan has been criticised for saying Australia's large intake of international students has resulted in the country's universities losing "their Australianness".
Senator Molan made the comments when he was speaking about the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Amendment Bill in the Senate on Monday.
The draft law imposes penalties on those that provide a cheating service to students during the course of their tertiary studies.
Senator Molan said the bill highlighted many aspects of Australia's tertiary education sector, "not just its over-reliance on foreign students".
"Several years ago, a vice-chancellor commented to me that the consequence of so many foreign students is that our universities have lost their Australianness, and that is my personal experience as well," he said.
Greens education spokesperson Mehreen Faruqi, who addressed the Senate about the bill directly before Senator Molan, said the comments were "vile" and further pushed an 'us and them' divide.
“International students enrich and enliven our university campuses. We are all the better for their presence," Senator Faruqi told SBS News on Tuesday.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi. Source: SBS News
SBS News contacted Senator Molan for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
In April, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told temporary visa holders to return to their home countries if they could not support themselves during the coronavirus pandemic.
Many international students who have remained in Australia during the pandemic .
Earlier this month, found 65 per cent of respondents had lost their job (60 per cent of international students) and 39 per cent didn't have enough money to cover basic living expenses.
Senator Faruqi said international students had been "tragically maligned and let down by the federal government" during the pandemic.
"It was bad enough when the prime minister told international students to go home. Comments from Liberal backbenchers which further push an ‘us and them’ divide are not just vile but will do nothing to reassure our wonderful international student population that they are indeed welcome here," she said.
Last month, the federal government said it had in an attempt to boost the number of international students once borders reopen.
It had previously relaxed some work restrictions for international students, who contribute an estimated $40 billion annually to the Australian economy and support around 250,000 jobs.
