Labor’s plan to buy votes by retiring 20 per cent of the HECS debt of students has been criticised by Gippsland MP Darren Chester because it fails to help more regional students pursue a university degree.
The Labor Party policy to cut student debts was promoted during the election campaign as a plan to “build a better and fairer education system”, but Mr Chester has told Federal Parliament that it was industrial-scale vote buying which disproportionately benefited city families.
Mr Chester said the Albanese Government was spending $16 billion to buy votes rather than improve access to university for under-represented groups or invest in regional university campuses.
“Data from the Parliamentary Library indicates the average number of people who stood to benefit by the scheme in seats that were held by the Nationals in rural and regional Australia in the lead-up to the election was 13,384,” Mr Chester told Parliament.
“However, in the seats held by the Greens in the city, which were the key targets for the Labor Party going into this election, the average number of people who stood to benefit was 32,288. There are two-and-a-half times the number of beneficiaries in those inner city seats.
“This was industrial-scale, tertiary-level vote buying, with working-class people picking up the tab for students who will earn more over their lifetime as a result of their university education.
“We know that the lifetime earnings of people with a university degree are, on average, at least $1 million more than those of people without the benefit of a taxpayer-subsidised university education.
“Just imagine if just some of that $16 billion went to address the barriers that exist for rural and regional students seeking to access a university degree.”
Mr Chester said he would continue to advocate for Gippsland families struggling with the high cost of relocating to pursue further studies.
“The Albanese Government is doing nothing to improve access for regional students who are already struggling with the financial cost and geographic barriers of attending university,” Mr Chester said.
“At least some of the money poured into buying votes in the city should have been quarantined to fix the Youth Allowance system, which still makes it harder for families in regional areas to support their children at university. We should also be investing more in regional campuses to reduce the need to relocate in the first place.
“The best way for us to attract and retain skilled workers in critical areas like health and education is to take a long-term view and train our own children.
“More financial assistance is required to support students who are forced to move away from home to complete their studies, and more resources need to be allocated to providing options for students to remain in their own communities and study.”
