Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member. The point that I'm making is that the member for Griffith shouldn't come in here and pretend there has been a policy change in the budget when it comes to the repayment of HECS debt. There hasn't. This is the longstanding arrangement that is applied to the indexation of student debt. His time in this place would be better spent not making up stories about Tuesday night's budget but instead voting for social and affordable housing. The member wanders around his electorate pretending he is for social and affordable housing and then comes down here and votes against it.

When it comes to students and young people—and I answered this question when the honourable member for Fowler asked it—this government is backing in students and young people with an increase in Commonwealth rent assistance, Austudy, youth allowance and the base rate of JobSeeker. These are important ways that we demonstrate our support for students and young people, like I told the member for Fowler. I understand that the member for Griffith will get all over his social media feed and pretend that Labor have made some kind of change when it comes to the repaying of HECS debts, but we haven't.

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