Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last week, in my first speech in the House, I spoke about my belief in education as a tool that can transform the lives of our young people and the importance of promoting intergenerational mobility. I'm so pleased to be part of an Albanese Labor government that is acting to make our higher education system fairer and more accessible and to help more Australians with the burden of student debt.

The legislation that was introduced last week and passed by the House on Tuesday will cut the debt of over three million Australians, including 20,509 people in my community of Banks. That is 20,509 people for whom the student debt burden is lighter. It is 20,509 people who have got qualified, have invested in themselves and will now have more money in their pockets. While some in this place had derided this policy as something that will give no benefit, the Australian people, particularly young Australians, know that this will be incredibly beneficial to them. No matter whether they studied at university, TAFE or took up an apprenticeship, if they have student debt it will be cut by 20 per cent.

The legislation introduced last week is not just about reducing student debt but also about making the system fairer by raising the minimum threshold and changing the system that calculates minimum repayments. Instead of the current system, which calculates this based on your whole wage, the marginal system we are introducing will see repayments calculated on the amount you earn above the minimum threshold. The average income earner in my electorate earns about $78,000 a year. In effect, the average income earner who holds a student debt will pay $850 less per year while still having the option to pay down their debt more quickly if they wish to do so.

This is not just about student debt relief and reform. It is a tangible cost-of-living relief for so many people in our communities. This is not the beginning nor is it the end of the Labor government's investment in and reform of higher education. On this side, we supported changes to indexation in response to inflation last year which, when combined with our 20 per cent cut, will see $20 billion of student debt forgiven. We've established the Australian Tertiary Education Commission to drive reform of the sector. We are making it easier for more people from the outer suburbs and regional Australia to go to university and realise their potential. We've worked with relevant agencies to remove HELP debt from debt-to-income reporting and made it easier for those with student debt to take out a mortgage and get into a place of their own. I've spoken to young people across my electorate about this and benefits have already started to be reaped across our great country. We've made fee-free TAFE permanent and protected 650,000 students enrolled in fee-free courses from having to shoulder a debt while they get qualified for some of the jobs and skills we want most in this great country. We've expanded FEE-FREE Uni Ready courses to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds to get ready for higher education. We've introduced legislation to combat gender based violence at universities and ensure that campuses across our country are safe for every single student. We've also established paid prac payment support for 68,000 students of teaching, nursing and midwifery, and social work so that they can complete their compulsory practical training without ending up worse off. Again, I've talked to dozens of young people in my electorate who've already benefited from this paid prac payment, making their study and work-life situation a little bit easier.

This side of the chamber is delivering on its ambitious agenda to support young people to get qualified and experience the transformational power of tertiary education, an experience that I myself have had and that so many people in this chamber have had. Labor went to the election promising to protect fee-free TAFE and cut student debt. The Liberal Party told Australia's young people that, not only would they not help with their student debt, they would also be sending more students into debt by axing fee-free TAFE. When the Liberals and Nationals um and ah about whether to support our students, this Albanese Labor government is providing relief to young people, protecting the integrity of our HELP system and expanding access to the transformational power of higher education for every single Australian.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 11:29

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