Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to support students and graduates, and are there any risks to this support?

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the brilliant member for Bennelong for his question. The first thing that the Liberals will do if they win the next election is raise taxes for every Australian worker, and the first thing that Labor will do is cut student debt by 20 per cent for three million Australians. They want to jack up taxes; we want to lighten your load. For the average Australian with a student debt, this will lighten the load by more than $5,000. In the member for Brisbane's electorate, for example, there are 34,000 people who will benefit and save money. The average person there will save about $6,500. In the member for Griffith's electorate, there are 31,000 people who will benefit. The average person there will save $6,400. In the member for Ryan's electorate, there are 27,000 people who will benefit. The average saving there will be about $6,000. The member for Wentworth, I know, will be pleased to know that in her electorate 23,600 people will benefit. The average saving there will be about $6,600. In the member for Fowler's electorate, next door to mine, there are 23,000 people that will see their HECS debt cut. The saving there will be about $6,000. In the member for Curtin's electorate in WA, more than 22,000 people will benefit. The saving there will be around $5,800 on average. So, from Western Sydney to Western Australia, there are millions of Aussies who are going to save thousands of bucks.

In fact, according to the Australian newspaper, in analysis not provided by me, the electorate with the highest ratio of HECS to average salary is Blaxland in Western Sydney—a good local member! Almost 26,000 people there will save, on average, $6,127. The Liberal Party are opposed to all of that. In fact, when we announced this policy, the shadow Treasurer said, 'There are no free lunches in economics.' Remember that? It turns out now that they are going to jack up your taxes to pay for free lunches for bosses. You have to think to yourself, 'How ordinary is that?' I know the opposition leader spent a lot of time checking out the All Ordinaries during the GFC. If he wants to see the All Ordinaries now, he just has to look behind him—because they are all ordinary!