David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Boosting higher education and training and tackling the cost of living are critical issues for my electorate of Bean. A re-elected Labor government will cut $5,500 from an average university student's debt and lock in free TAFE permanently. This plan will benefit the constituents of Bean and people throughout Australia to make ends meet and get ahead, as well as ensure we have the skills we need. It will put money back in the pockets of constituents who are often facing a host of financial pressures starting out in their working lives. Importantly, it will increase the attractiveness of pursuing higher education and training, which is essential to the future of the ACT and our nation more broadly. The Albanese government is rightly putting students and trainees centre stage.

It is also welcome news that one of the Albanese government's 10 new regional education university hubs will be on Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is 2½ hours by air to Sydney or Brisbane airports, let alone to their university campuses. With the new Canberra Institute of Technology being built by the ACT government in the Woden valley—in the heart of Bean—and the Prime Minister's plan to cut the costs faced by those pursuing higher education and training, we know that education is the best weapon to fight disadvantage. I am pleased that, with the support of Labor governments at all levels, we are providing students and trainees with the opportunity to build a better future.

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