2024-05-30
Data from the Parliamentary Library provided to the Greens shows that residents of the Prime Minister’s electorate, Grayndler, have some of the highest student debts in the country. The average student debt in Grayndler is $32,135 and is set to rise by $1,285 this year, even if Labor’s proposed changes to indexation are passed into law. Under these changes, student debts are likely to rise by 11.5% between 2022-2024.
During Prime Minister Albanese’s first term, residents of Grayndler with an average student debt will see a rise of around $3,700. The average student debt in Grayndler is significantly higher than the national average ($26,494) and Grayndler residents owe more than $800 million in student debt.
The data also shows that Labor’s student debt crisis is particularly acute in some of the seats that the Greens will be campaigning hard in ahead of the next election, including Wills, Higgins, Sydney and Macnamara.
Quotes attributed to Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Higher Education:
“Labor’s bandaid plan for the student debt crisis still means student debts rising by 11.5% in their first term of Government. That’s not a solution, that’s a disaster for people already crushed by a housing and cost of living crisis.
“Labor’s student debt relief policy is a tokenistic farce. The root of the crisis remains totally intact: people will still graduate with massive debts that will grow every year and take longer and longer to pay off.
“Prime Minister Albanese was lucky enough to go to university when it was free, but he’s shackling his constituents with obscene, out-of-control debts for making the same choice.
“It's outrageous that the Prime Minister, a beneficiary of free university, is punishing people across the country and especially in his electorate, with yet another punitive student debt increase on June 1.
“Labor has abandoned students and students should abandon them. The Greens are the only party fighting to wipe student debt and make uni and TAFE free.
“Whether it be spiraling student debts or unrestrained rent rises, young people are being screwed over by Labor, especially in electorates like Grayndler and Sydney.
“We will make sure that voters in electorates like Wills, Higgins and Sydney know that the Labor Government is responsible for their astronomical student debt increases.
“The Government is squeezing billions out of students to balance their budget, while handing over billions to subsidize coal and gas companies.”
Quotes attributed to Greens candidate for Wills, Samantha Ratnam:
“We’ve knocked on thousands of doors in Wills in just the past few weeks alone, and the verdict is resounding: people are being crushed by the rising cost of living including soaring student debt. Labor’s band-aid solutions aren’t fooling anyone.
“A vote for Labor is a vote for your student debt to keep going up, in many cases faster than you can pay it off.
