The Greens have announced their intention to wipe out $81 billion in and making university and TAFE free for all, a week after Labor announced its own plans to ease financial pressures on students.
The Greens say that a person with an average income and who has a of $27,600 would save $5,500 each year under the program, or “enough to cover more than six months of groceries.”
“It’s time for young people to be relieved of their debt punishment and for money to be put back in the pockets of those who need it most,” the party said.
Australian Taxation Office data from September showed the number of Australians with debts of more than $100,000 under the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) had more than doubled since 2018-19, with almost 57,000 Australians are now living with these debts.
The plans are part of the party’s cost of living plans, with the Greens saying young people are struggling to “afford a better life amid great social inequality” due to high youth unemployment and the record cost of housing. housing and life.
Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Greens and higher education spokesperson, posted on social media platform X on Monday that “student debt cannot be fixed because student debt should not exist” and that ” If Anthony Albanese can go to college for free, everyone else should too.”
What is Labor’s student debt plan?
The Greens’ announcement comes a week after the government announced its own plan to eliminate $16 billion in student debt for around three million Australians by forgiving 20 per cent of their loan.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the next election would be about cost of living pressures, but also about “the next generation”, and said if Labor won the election debt reduction would be first bill that he would present to the federal Parliament.
“It’s about putting money back in your pocket and putting intergenerational equity back into the system,” Albanese said.
“It’s good for the cost of living, good for this generation and for generations to come.”
According to modeling from the Prime Minister’s Office, students with an average HECS debt of $27,600 would have more than $5,500 removed from their loans, helping around three million people.
Students with debt of less than $10,000 would have their debt erased by less than $2,000, while students with debt of more than $60,000 would have their debt erased by more than $12,000.
Although Labor’s plan received support from the Greens, they also said the debt reductions “are not enough of what is needed” and that despite changes to indexation that set the rate either inflation or wage growth, whichever is lower, students are still stuck. to increases in debt each year.
Referring to Labor’s plans on Monday, the Greens said: “80% of a lifetime debt is still a lifetime debt.”
How Could Student Debt Cancellation Happen?
The policy proposal is part of the Greens’ so-called “Robin Hood reforms”, which said they would fund the plan by “taxing big businesses that profit from price gouging during a cost of living crisis “.
Writing on
The Greens said total debt relief would be a key issue on the negotiating table in a hung parliament, with polls likely showing a minority government in the next term.
With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press.
