Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Grogan. Yes, I can. I know of your deep belief that education can change lives. In our last term, we made HECS indexation fairer, and, in so doing, we wiped $3 billion in student debt for the more than three million Australians with a HECS debt.

But that was just the beginning. Young people rightly told us that their debts were too large, and that's why we went to the election with a promise to cut student debt by 20 per cent. We said the first legislation we would introduce would make that happen. Last week, the first week of this new parliament, that is exactly what we did, and this week we have the chance to make it law. We understand what this cost-of-living relief means to people with student debts. It will wipe $16 billion from the HECS debts of Australians. For someone with the average HECS debt of around $27,000, it will mean about $5½ thousand wiped off their debt. And it won't just benefit uni students. This legislation covers all HELP loans, including loans to apprentices and to other VET students.

But, despite the referendum on student debt at the recent election, the newly elected coalition member for Forrest said only hours ago in the other place that this critical relief is 'grossly unfair'. I wonder if he'd say that to one of his 11,000 constituents who have a HECS debt. On this side of the chamber, we know that, whether you're studying at uni or at TAFE, you're developing the skills that keep Australia moving. That's what you get with the Albanese Labor government: a united team delivering on its promises. (Time expired)