Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Scrymgour. It is excellent to see you in that chair. History is definitely being made today.

I rise in this chamber today to speak on an issue that is at the very heart of Australia's long-term prosperity, long-term resilience and long-term security—and that is our commitment to tertiary education and reducing that growing burden of student debt that people have been crippled by over the preceding decades.

Australia has always had a big presence on the international stage, not because of our size but because of the strength and intelligence of our people. Nothing strengthens a nation more than a well-educated, critically thinking and highly skilled population. But what we have seen grow is a generation of Australians burdened by ever increasing student debt, hitting our teachers, our nurses, our engineers and our scientists the hardest. These are the very people that safeguard Australia's future.

Access to tertiary education should be for the public good and should not be a debt trap. This is not just an economic issue, at the end of the day; this is a national security imperative. As our region becomes more complex, as it becomes more contested, Australia cannot afford to fall behind. Our strategic resilience depends not just on submarines and satellites but on software engineers, cybersecurity experts, medical researchers, linguists, climate scientists and policy specialists, yet we are pricing bright, capable Australians out of this future. So, when a student from the Central Coast or Western Sydney or even regional Queensland hesitates to enrol in university because of the debt they're going to carry into their 30s and 40s, we are not just denying them opportunity; we are weakening this country.

This growing student debt, has become a modern form of economic imprisonment for young people, burdening them before they've even had a chance to build their futures. This growing debt affects their ability to buy a home. Banks consider HECS debts when calculating borrowing capacity, making it harder for young people to get on the property ladder, in particular in places like Melbourne and Sydney, where median house prices are well out of reach.

The debt burden also affects career choices. Graduates often feeling pressure to take higher-paying jobs over meaningful or community focused work—roles that are already understaffed and undervalued. Passion and purpose take a backseat to repayment schedules. Moreover this burden is not shared equally. First Nations students, those from rural and remote communities and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds often take on higher debt due to relocation costs, longer study durations or limited access to resources. The system, while marketed as equitable, reproduces existing inequalities.

Now, in this 48th parliament, led by an Albanese Labor government, as we promised, we will be cutting student debt by 20 per cent because that is what people voted for. This is not just a question of fairness; it is a matter of foresight. Education is not a cost; it is our most powerful form of deterrence and our greatest source of national strength. A highly educated society is a resilient society, able to adapt to crises, solve complex problems and, more importantly, lead in the region.

Let us ensure that the next generation of Australians are equipped with not just the knowledge but also the freedom from crippling debt, in order to use it for the good of this country. This is how we build a stronger, safer and, more importantly, smarter Australia.

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