Concern trade tension could boil over to education

Shadow Education Minister Tanya Plibersek says she holds concerns for the education sector as trade tensions grow between Australia and China. In a sign of escalating tensions on Tuesday, China suspended imports from four Australian abattoirs, just days after announcing it would level higher tariffs on barley amid a dumping investigation. The education sector — already suffering from the effects of COVID-19 — could also face a blow from the nation with Chinese ambassador Cheng Yingye last month warning parents may reconsider sending their children to Australia for schooling. Ms Plibersek told Sky News she is “worried” about the situation, but hopes China and Australia can retain educational links. She also encouraged the sector to target “students from a broader range of countries”. “Of course I’m worried about the international student situation. It is a huge export earner for us — it's almost $40 billion a year added to our economy before COVID-19,” she said. “But it is important to make sure we have got a number of countries we are targeting to invite students from a border range of countries, because … if one country isn’t able to send students for some time, we don’t want the whole sector to fall over because of that.”