Albanese drops big election date clue in student debt policy

Australians may be closer to knowing when they are heading to the polls next year, after the Prime Minister appeared to drop a clue in a key policy call.

Labor is defending its first major election pitch the Coalition unleashes a firestorm of criticism. Picture: NewsWire / Dean Martin

Australians may be closer to knowing when they will head to the polls, with Labor’s first re-election pitch revealing a key clue.

Anthony Albanese on Sunday formally unveiled his government’s proposed sweeping reforms to student debt, including a plan to slash student debt by 20 per cent from June 1 next year.

The Prime Minister repeated his pledge on Monday that if Australians gave Labor a second term, the reforms would be the first legislation his government put to parliament.

“We are saying that this is a part of our second term agenda, that this legislation is the first legislation we’ll introduce if we’re re-elected next year,” Mr Albanese told the ABC.

“We have a budget scheduled for next March, and all of these details, it’s gone through our expenditure review committee, all of these three measures, because we think that this is absolutely critical going forward.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will have a tight turnaround to get his government’s legislation passed. Picture: NewsWire / Dean Martin

Mr Albanese’s comments suggest he expects to be governing until at least March to deliver a budget, giving his government a tight turnaround to hold and win an election, and get the reforms through parliament by June 1.

Political analysts have predicted the election would be called for May, though it has been previously speculated as early as March and Mr Albanese has threatened a double-dissolution due to a constipated senate.

Health Minister Mark Butler refused to “add” to the speculation, instead saying his boss was just keen on the reforms.

“You can all read tea leaves about election timing, I’m sure that will happen for the coming joyous weeks and months as we lead into the next election,” Mr Butler told reporters in Canberra.

“I’m not going to add to it. I think the prime minister’s statement this morning simply reflects the priority we give to relieving financial pressure on young Australians.”

Meanwhile, Labor has been defending its first major election pitch amid a firestorm of criticism unleashed by the Coalition.

Coalition MP Paul Fletcher says the Albanese government’s proposed student debt reforms are ‘profoundly unfair’. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Opposition frontbencher Paul Fletcher has accused the Albanese government of “Steven Miles tactics” with big public spending promises, and called the student debt reforms “profoundly unfair”.

“All 27 million Australians will be required to contribute to the cost of it, but 24 million Australians will not benefit from it,” he told the ABC.

“Let’s remember the underlying policy rationale for HECS, going back to when it was introduced in the Hawke-Keating years, which is that people who have the benefit of a tertiary education will have a much higher lifetime earnings than the average across the community, and therefore it’s appropriate that they bear some of the cost of their education.”

Mr Fletcher said the federal government already foots “around 60 per cent of the cost of a university student’s education, so there’s already a very significant amount being paid by taxpayers.”

“What this will simply do is increase the burden on all taxpayers,” he said.

“This has to be paid for. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

But in his comments to reporters, Mr Butler defended the youth-focused election pitch, saying the Albanese government would “make no apology for doing everything we can to relieve that financial pressure.”

Health Minister Mark Butler says student debt is ‘higher than it’s ever been.’ Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Student debt is higher than it’s ever been,” he said.

“If you’re an Australian who got the benefit of free university, or my generation that did have some HECS, but it was nothing compared to some of the debts students now are saddled with.

“They’re saddled with these record levels of debt at a time of real financial pressure on them, whether it’s rental costs or having to save up for a house deposit.

“We make no apology for doing everything we can to ease the financial pressure on three million Australians saddled with record levels of debt.”

‘Broken’: Big issue with Albo’s uni plan

A university Vice-Chancellor claims the plan to reduce student debt does not go far enough in tackling the “broken” and “deeply unfair” system.

About $16bn in student debt would be cut from existing student loan accounts as of June next year, meaning average HELP debts of $27,600 would be slashed by about $5,520.

The reforms would also raise the threshold for repayment from $54,000 to $67,000 and lower the rate to be repaid.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has proposed sweeping reforms for student debt. Picture: NewsWire / Dean Martin

Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor, George Williams, said the proposed reforms were “extremely welcome” but warned they did not go far enough in addressing the cause of Australia’s “broken higher education system”.

“We continue to call for immediate action to deal with the root of the debt spiral problem,” he said.

“The system for setting student fees in the first place is broken and deeply unfair. Today’s changes do nothing for new university students facing inflated fees.”

Professor Williams called for “a commonsense and fair approach” to the cost of university degrees, some of which cost so much that students are “priced out” of following their dreams.

“The fact that a three-year Arts degree now costs $50,000 is actively discouraging some students from considering or staying at university,” he said.

“We need action on all fronts: student loan repayments and the overall cost of degrees.”

The Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor noted Arts degrees have been an entry point to tertiary study for Indigenous, low socio-economic, first-in-family, and female students.

“Students cannot wait for a yet to be established Australian Tertiary Education Commission to potentially deal with the high cost of arts and humanities courses, we need to fix this unfinished business now,” he said.

Mr Albanese’s proposed reform would apply to all Higher Education Loan Program, Vet Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans and other income-contingent student loans.

University of Western Sydney Vice Chancellor, George Williams, said the reforms do not address the high cost of university degrees.

He said the legislation would be introduced in June next year if Labor is re-elected during the upcoming federal election.

“It helps everyone repaying a student debt right now, and it also delivers a better deal for every student in the years ahead,” the Prime Minister said on Sunday.

“This is about putting money back into your pocket and putting intergenerational equity back into the system.”

The student debt plan was criticised by senior Coalition senator Simon Birmingham, who argued it wasn’t “real reform” and accused Mr Albanese of trying to “hoodwink” young Australians.

“This doesn’t change the student fees that somebody who starts uni next year pays,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

Labor’s proposal comes after the Albanese reformed the way in which student loans are indexed earlier this year, which is set to wipe $3bn from student debts.

Originally published as Albanese drops big election date clue in student debt policy