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

Thanks, Senator Henderson, for that contribution. But, honestly, I can't believe that you would raise the cost of degrees for people, given the record of the previous government. The damage that you did with the cost of degrees was completely outrageous. That is still being felt across the university sector.

Also, when it come to the economy, what did we inherit when we came to government? Inflation was much higher and rising. It is now lower and falling. That's the record of our government: inflation is lower and falling, when it was higher and rising under our predecessors. It had a six in front of it under the previous government; it now has a two in front of it. We've delivered two budget surpluses, because we know that it is important to ensure we do that to bring down inflation. We've created a million new jobs. It's an economic record that this government is proud of.

In terms of capping the HELP indexation rate to the lower of either the CPI or the wage price index, that's a recommendation of the Universities Accord. It will prevent growth in student debt from outpacing wages into the future. This change will provide relief for students while continuing to protect the integrity and value of the HELP system, which has massively expanded higher education access for millions of Australians. That is what we are trying to achieve with this bill, and that is why it is important for the Australian people.