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

The Albanese Labor government is firmly focused on easing cost-of-living pressures for Australians. Our record on this is clear. There are fairer taxes, with a tax cut for every taxpayer in the cities, in the towns and in the bush. We've boosted Medicare and made medicines cheaper, we've implemented energy bill relief and we're holding the big supermarkets to account. These measures are beginning to make a significant impact, and we're doing it while we're building Australia's sustainable future.

And that's where higher education comes in. Labor is supporting current students and those with student debt now, while planning for Australia's future needs. We know that by 2050 this nation will need a workforce where 80 per cent of people have a university degree or a TAFE qualification. The Albanese government understands that post-school education, whether it's uni or TAFE, is a key part of individuals setting themselves up for the future. Prime Minister Albanese said:

… it's also an investment that government makes in the future of our country: the creativity and innovation that Australia needs to grow and thrive. … it's discovery and research, industry and ideas, a more productive workforce and a more equal society.

That's why the Labor government is committed to legislating for 100,000 fee-free TAFE places annually right across the nation. We want to break down the barriers that are stopping people from pursuing further education. The fee-free TAFE program has been a huge success. There have been 508,000 enrolments since January last year—enrolments that bolster the workforces in the care sector, in technology and digital, in early childhood education and in the construction sector, all areas where there are skill shortages.

Labor is also giving current students and those with HECS or HELP debts a fair go by wiping $3 billion off student debt by capping the HELP indexation rate at the lower of either the CPI or the wage price index, and backdating this to 1 June last year. Teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students will benefit from the Commonwealth prac payment—vital financial support to help them undertake the mandatory practical components of those courses. And we're helping more Australians access uni by expanding the fee-free university-ready course program.

But stop. That's not all. There's more. When Labor wins the next election, three million Australians with student debt will have their debt cut by 20 per cent. For the average student this will mean their debt is reduced by more than $5,000, and obviously it's more for those with more costly degree debts. One of my constituents said that he'll save around $14,000 off the cost of his university courses. Another undergraduate I know—and it's not my son Stanley; all he said was 'thanks, Dad'—who is already aiming for postgraduate study, said, 'Cutting 20 per cent off my student loan helps ensure that future study is feasible, as I won't be as worried about my HECS.'

Labor also intends to increase the minimum amount before repaying HECS kicks in. We'll increase it from $54,000 to $67,000. That will reduce the annual payments just while people are trying to get their life sorted. For example, someone who is earning 70,000 per annum will have to repay roughly $1,000 less per year.

This is all part of Labor's drive to fix generational inequality. It's more expensive to get a tertiary education now than when I was a uni student back in the eighties and nineties. This isn't just due to cost-of-living pressures. The HECS system originally required graduates to pay about 24 per cent of the cost of their degree; in the late nineties, this increased to just over 35 per cent; and then, under the former government, the coalition government, the contribution increased further, to around 45 per cent. So I wholeheartedly back cutting student debt by 20 per cent and making it a more affordable option for more Australians.

The Albanese Labor government currently has six pieces of education legislation on the go. We're committed to reforming education and tackling educational inequality from early childhood education onwards. We want to ensure that those who teach our preschool-age children are paid well and valued by the community and can buy a home. We're also fulfilling the recommendations of the Gonski report and funding public schools properly—the schools that do the heavy lifting in our community. We're making the international student program sustainable, and we're focused on improving safety on campuses, with the creation of a national student ombudsman.

Students and people with HECS-HELP debts are better off under a Labor government. We will always focus on talent and opportunity rather than privilege and anti-intellectualism. Don't let the Trump-lite leaders in this parliament ever try to lead our nation down that cul-de-sac.