Labor to introduce student debt-slashing bill into parliament
The proposed relief, a key election policy, would cut HECS by 20 per cent for some 3 million graduates, or take about $5500 off the average student debt.
Total savings would amount to $16bn, according to Labor.
It would also raise the repayment threshold for student loans from $54,000 to $67,000.
While Labor commands a massive 94-seat majority in the House of Representatives, the Senate is another matter.
With the Greens holding the balance of power, they can effectively pump the brakes on key legislation – something members of the minor party have already said they would do to negotiate their own agenda.
'While every bit of student debt relief is good, what the government is doing by wiping some student debt doesn't even touch the sides of the issue,' Greens education spokeswoman Mehreen Faruqi said on Tuesday.
'The core of the problem is indexation.
'Unless indexation is removed, students will be in this hamster wheel always chasing their debts, which keep getting bigger and bigger.'
While Senator Faruqi said her party would push for amendments, NewsWire understands the government is confident the opposition will support it.
Speaking to Sky News, Coalition education spokesman Jono Duniam said he also expected his side to back the bill.
'It was an issue, one of the centrepieces of the government's agenda at the last election and obviously we had a view that was not supported by Australians, so we'll work with them,' he said.
'We have our concerns, they remain. We'll talk about those, but I expect them to pass parliament.'
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