Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is Youth Voice in Parliament Week, and I'm privileged to share the words of a young Moreton constituent, Ava. Ava wants to access tertiary education but is concerned about the cost. She says:

Higher education is of great value and demand in Australian society but in recent years university attendance rates are dropping. With the addition of the cost-of-living crisis, university and higher education is becoming unaffordable and for many young people, further education is falling out of the picture.

She also outlines how HELP debts can make it difficult for graduates to access other loans.

Labor understands how daunting HELP debts are and the pressures that students are under. That's why we're wiping $3 billion off HELP debts for more than three million Australians and we've taken action to ensure that indexation never rises faster than wages in the future; we're supporting student nurses, midwives, social workers and teachers with the Commonwealth Prac Payment to assist with the mandatory prac elements of their degrees; and we are making uni more accessible for more people with the expansion of the fee-free uni-ready courses, which are a bridge between school and university. We know there is more work to do, but these measures will assist with Ava's goal to:

… start the change that can make universities accessible and affordable not only for our generation but future the generations of Australia.

This is a great goal, Ava, and one I truly and fully support.