Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I want to pay tribute to and recognise a wonderful friend of mine, Abram Goldberg, who deserves to be recognised in this chamber and in this place. Abram, or Abe, was born in Lodz in Poland in 1924. He was only 15 years old when the Nazis invaded his home town and it became the Lodz ghetto. Abe, his parents and his three sisters were imprisoned in the ghetto along with around 200,000 others. They endured discrimination, starvation and terror. Only he and his sister survived. His parents, sisters and extended family were murdered in Auschwitz. Abe was only 20 years old when he was liberated by the American army.

Despite the unimaginable trauma he faced as a teenager, his goal in life has been to fulfil a promise he made to his mother when they arrived at Auschwitz. She said to him, 'You should do everything humanly possible to survive, and, when you survive, you will tell people what actually happened.' That's exactly what Abe has dedicated his life to. Everyone who has met him has been touched by his story, and he has spent decades doing everything he can to make sure that the horrors of the past are never forgotten and that the lessons of history are remembered and are front of mind. He helped build a more multicultural, tolerant, wonderful and accepting Melbourne and Australia.

He was a founding member of the Melbourne Holocaust Museum and has spoken to thousands and thousands of schoolchildren in Melbourne. Last month, I joined Abe, his children, Charlie and Helen, his grandchildren and 400 members of our community at the Glen Eira Town Hall to celebrate his 100th birthday. He had family members fly in from across the country and from overseas to join him. There were Yiddish songs with primary school students and performers, and he received a letter from the King and the Prime Minister.

Abe's story of survival, resilience and strength is known to everyone across our community, but it is also a story of love. He and his beautiful wife, Cesia, have been married for over 75 years. Despite all he went through, he chose to dedicate his life to making sure that everyone understands the dangers of hate when it is left unchecked. Abram, happy birthday, my friend. Biz hundert un tsvantsik—may there be many more years to come.

This weekend we had a fantastic announcement that I was proud of. Just like so many Australians, my family had their lives changed by the opportunity to access education. My grandparents left school early, and the privilege to go to university was not one that was afforded to them. But Australia provided my parents and my generation with a different opportunity—the opportunity to achieve higher education. It didn't matter who you were or where you came from; that's what HECS was all about. I have spoken to countless members of our community who are facing the growing burden of HECS debts. For young people it's impacting how they consider their plans for the future. So over the weekend we announced that we'll be cutting 20 per cent off people's student debt.

This is really important for the 27,000 people in Macnamara who are currently facing and paying off a HECS debt. Someone with an average of $27,600 will see approximately $5,500 wiped from their loans next year. We've also announced changes to the HECS threshold, meaning you won't have to start paying off your loan until you're earning a higher wage. I know that this will make a difference to people in our community, not just when it comes to planning for the future. For so many across Macnamara it will take a little bit of pressure off the rising cost of living right now. Earlier this year we changed how indexation is calculated, and I know that that was important for our community. With the announcement this weekend, we are recognising that going to university is a privilege and an opportunity and that it can change your life. It is something we want to ensure that more Australians can access.

To finish my contribution I also want to say how proud I am of the announcement that we will continue the rollout of fee-free TAFE and have a minimum of 100,000 places per year. This is an extraordinary Labor legacy and one that will create jobs, opportunity and really important and dignified work in our community. I am proud to be a part of the party that will deliver it.