In the media
Australia’s Student Loan Scheme is Broken
Media Release, 1 June 2023
More than three million Australians – most of them young working Australians – are today, more deeply in debt than they were yesterday.
Inflation-indexed increases in HECS and HELP debts will see the average loan will increase by more than $1,000. An increase that could have lifelong impact on their borrowing capacity and ability to enter the housing market.
Tertiary education is more than a cost; it is an investment in our future. A better educated workforce means greater productivity and greater community prosperity.
I met with Education Minister Jason Clare yesterday and he pledged to review the HECS / HELP debt system, this review should happen as a priority.
There are other immediate options the government could take:
- Determine indexation based on either the CPI or the more stable Wage Price Index, whichever is lower at the time (as occurs in the UK).
- Tie indexation to the RBA’s trimmed or weighted mean which more accurately calculates underlying inflation which would effectively compensate for the current and future burden of higher cost of living pressures.
- Indexation should not be applied to debts unless it is applied to “real debt”.
Concerned members of my North Sydney community have contacted me to express the distress they, and their children, are feeling considering the 7.1 percent increase which comes into effect today. One mother said:
"The indexation has resulted in terrible stress on my children and other students. Given the current economic environment, this decision is causing their debts to balloon, placing great financial pressure on them. As an example, my daughter (who has two degrees, studied medicine and works in the public hospital system) has a debt that was increased by $14K."
I’ve also been contacted by North Sydney young professionals who point out that because the indexing comes into effect today, they are paying hundreds, and in some cases more than a thousand dollars in additional repayments.
The interest is added to their loan before any payments they made in the previous year are deducted - how can this be fair? To me, it makes no sense.
Inter-generational equity is one of the biggest challenges of our time: in the tax system, on climate change and on a forward focused economy.
The existing scheme also perpetuates gender inequity, with women holding 60 per cent of HELP debts and 58 per cent of the total $74.3B debt pool.
Other relevant posts
ABC Mornings Post-Budget Panel
ABC Radio Mornings, 26 March 2025
Kylea speaks with host Kathryn Robinson and Fowler's Dai Le MP about the 2025 Federal Budget, describing the government's headline-grabbing tax breaks as a "very tiny, very small green shoot" that indicates that Labor may be prepared to begin to consider larger scale tax reform. When asked about the upcoming election, Kylea reiterates her commitment to the community independent movement: "We need everyday Australians stepping up ... to bring their real-life, lived experience into Parliament House, because it's only when you have that experience that you understand the impact that some of these reforms will have."
Fairy Bread: A Bread & Butter Budget Sprinkled with Sugar Hits
Media Statement, 26 March 2025
The 2025 Federal budget is a classic bread and butter budget that focuses on the bare basics but lacks ambition. This time however, it’s more like fairy bread in that it’s sprinkled with a few sugar hits that offer temporary relief for some but no long term, lasting benefits.
The Coalition’s attack on the climate authority is a cynical attempt to put ideology over facts – it must be called out
The Guardian, 27 February 2025
On the Coalition's attack on the Climate Change Authority, Kylea writes: "As my grandmother used to say: we are all entitled to our own opinions. But we are not entitled to our own facts."
When does bipartisanship happen? When mutual self-interest is served
The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 February 2025
Economics editor Ross Gittins has described a bipartisan deal on electoral reform as “collusion”, saying the major parties have passed reforms that “advance their interests at the expense of the voters.” He says a minority government would allow independents to push for “braver policies in return for keeping the minority government in power. Not such a bad arrangement.”
‘Swimming in debt’: Sydney’s $14 billion student loan burden
The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 February 2025
New data shows that North Sydney is region with the 4th highest number of students with HELP debt (44,030).
The 12 teal battlegrounds to watch out for this election
Australian Financial Review, 26 February 2025
After the wave of independents that swept the 2022 election, here are the 35 community-backed independents to watch out for as we head towards the polls.
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