Senator PAYNE (New South Wales—Minister for Human Services) (15:05): I would like to be able to advise of alternatives but unfortunately it is a bit of a blank sheet, because all we have offered by those opposite is cuts—no plan and no reforms. That is the alternative to the government's package: cuts without positive reform. The previous government cut higher education research spending in this country by over $6.6 billion. And at the same time they did not provide universities with the opportunity— Senator Kim Carr: That's rubbish. Senator PAYNE: Come in spinner! They did not provide universities with the opportunity to offer diploma and other sub-bachelor places that they wanted to offer. They did not give them the freedom to set their own fees. They left organisations like the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and the Future Fellowships on a funding cliff. And they know they did. The quality indicators for learning and teaching that university leaders recommended, and that would provide students with the information they needed—they did not provide that, either. All of these depend on this reform bill