Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Usually people relish spot No. 10 on this side of the House, but I do say it's a bit hard after the member for Riverina's contribution. Nevertheless, what I have to say is important. Those opposite love to bring up rhetoric about cost of living, but that's where it ends—rhetoric. On this side of the House, we actually have a plan on how we're going to tackle the cost-of-living pressures that so many in Australia are facing right now, particularly those with a HECS or HELP debt. That's about three million Australians who will benefit from Labor's plan to cut HECS debts by 20 per cent, wiping $16 billion off the national bill for HECS debt. That's about $5,000 per person with a HECS debt. These three million Australians live in all of our electorates. That's about 20,000 in each of our electorates. That's 20,000 people in seats like Menzies and Deakin. It's 20,000 people in seats like Longman. It's 20,000 people in seats like Bowman. These are electorates where people care about their HECS debts and want to see action.

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