Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I am going to provide a government response to Senator Faruqi on 2949. As you would be aware, we are already taking action to provide significant relief to Australian students and workers with student debt. In this bill, we're taking action to cut the cost of degrees through our changes to indexation, and we've also announced that we'll cut 20 per cent of all student debts and that we'll raise the minimum repayment threshold so repayments are lower and kick in when you earn more. This means, all up, the Albanese Labor government will cut close to $20 billion in student loan debt for more than three million Australians.

I note abolishing indexation was considered by the Senate Standing Committee on Education and Employment in 2023. The committee recommended that the Senate not pass that bill. Indexation plays an important role in ensuring that loans maintain their real value over time and reinforces the long-term financial sustainability of the HELP and other loan systems. But that doesn't mean that indexation settings can't be better and fairer. The changes in this bill acknowledge that. They ensure that debts won't grow faster than average wages. If indexation were to be waived altogether, the costs would be in the billions. It would break the system that has seen so many Australians get a university degree. We need more people to go into tertiary education, not fewer, and that's why we will not support this amendment.