Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can't tell you how many young people I meet who are crushed by student debt. With indexation through the roof, their HECS debts are growing faster than they can pay them off. I went to uni for free, and so did the Prime Minister. Today's students though are paying through the nose for an education—not fair. The Greens have been fighting for years to wipe student debt completely to ease this massive burden on young people particularly. Now, Labor's finally listening, promising a 20 per cent reduction in HECS balances and raising the payment threshold. But why wait until after the election? With the Greens' support, Labor has the numbers to deliver their promise right now. Students and graduates need cost-of-living relief right now, not in some hypothetical future. They should not have to wait. Labor could wipe student debt completely by wiping tax handouts to massive corporations and shifting their focus to helping everyday Australians. Instead, they're playing politics with people's lives in the middle of one of the worst cost-of-living crises in decades. The Greens are willing to work with Labor to offer real relief for thousands of people with HECS debts right now. What is Labor scared of?