Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Sturt for bringing this motion forward, but I will say that this motion once again shines a spotlight on the government's remarkable ability to generate headlines rather than deliver real structural change for the Australians who need it most.

This motion praises the 20 per cent HECS-HELP debt reduction, a measure I fully supported. Any immediate relief for students is welcome. In my first term, I called for reduction of the HECS indexation from 7.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent, and I'm glad the government did it. As we heard, the member for Kooyong led a petition on this issue as well.

However, we must ask: what is the government's long-term plan? What we have before us today is not a solution. It is a sugar hit, a political pat on the back that masks a fundamentally broken system. The government is currently excelling at two things: brilliant marketing and clickbait announcements. We see them everywhere: cheaper medicine, help to buy, free TAFE courses and, of course, the ever-present line about reducing HECS debt. These slogans are slick. They are memorable, and they make for fantastic ad campaigns. But, for communities like mine in Fowler and across Western Sydney, the reality on the ground could not be more different.

Take the issue of student debt. A 20 per cent reduction after years of runaway indexation and skyrocketing fees is simply not good enough. It is a temporary patch on a systematic problem that continues to punish low socioeconomic students, migrant households and working families. In my electorate, young people are not just focused on their degrees; they are focused on survival. They are juggling work, study and debt, often working late-night graveyard shifts just to keep their heads above water. They are exhausted, stressed and doing everything right, yet still falling behind.

The government's recent announcements are a perfect example of this shallow approach. We are seeing the rebranding of a promised university campus into a so-called study hub. Renaming a project does nothing to address the real barriers facing young people in Fowler: the crushing financial pressure and the mounting HECS debt. The Albanese government's reckless spending is keeping interest rates high and driving up the cost of living. And, for those who manage to finish their studies, the government's mass immigration program is making it harder and harder for young Australians to secure jobs at the end of their degrees. These young Australians do not need hollow slogans. They need access and affordability. They need the genuine opportunity to be part of the new workforce without beginning their careers trapped in decades of debt.

This motion, and the policy is celebrates, is fleeting. It delivers a talking point, not meaningful change. It offers relief today but guarantees that debts will balloon again next year. We must ask: Who exactly is this policy helping, and who is being ignored? What did this policy do for those students who worked multiple jobs and scrimped and saved to pay off their student debt? Absolutely nothing. What did this policy do for those young people that didn't go to university? Absolutely nothing.

The policy is a narrow political exercise. It fails to address educational inequality at its roots. There is no structural reform to stop debts from ballooning again next year. There is no guarantee of meaningful ongoing financial support for those already at the bottom. What communities in south-west and Western Sydney need is not another round of cheap marketing slogans dressed up as policy. We need a government willing to put forward transformative long-term reform. We need real commitment to expanding fully funded scholarships for low-income students so that a disadvantaged postcode is never a barrier to aspiration. We need to break the cycle of perpetual debt that traps young people for decades. We need policies that genuinely make an impact on the lives and livelihoods of those who need it most. That's why I called on the government to support my bill to reverse the unfair job-ready graduates program or at least reform it.

We must make it more affordable and accessible for those in my community wanting to study arts degrees, be it in history, politics or media—courses which the previous government made prohibitively expensive for many young people to study. I genuinely look forward to seeing a government that is brave enough to make a real difference to the lives of Australians, instead of just making a slick announcement, and we know HECS debt will continue to grow. That's the reality. The government must offer credible, genuine, honest solutions, not just more marketing slogans.

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