Deputy Greens Leader and spokesperson for Higher Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has responded to Labor's bill that was introduced today claiming to wipe $3 billion of student debt.
The bill is nothing more than a mirage to give the impression that the Labor government is wiping student debt, when in fact it will have little impact. Around 3 million Australians have over $74 billion in student debt, so shaving off $3 billion in indexation just scratches the surface.
Equally, the inclusion in the bill of a Commonwealth payment for students undertaking placements in nursing, teaching and social work is wholly inadequate and excludes hundreds of thousands of other students required to do unpaid placement work.
As stated by Senator Mehreen Faruqi:
"Labor's student debt relief bill is nothing more than a PR stunt, not genuine cost-of-living relief.
"Labor steals our lines about wiping student debt, because they know it's what people want, but they are really just tinkering with indexation. The Greens are the only party with a genuine commitment to wipe student debt.
"Student debt is another cost for millions of people trying to make ends meet on top of so many other cost-of-living pressures. A cost that can and should be erased if Labor just wiped student debt entirely. It just goes to show that Labor doesn't really care about helping people cope in a cost-of-living crisis.
"What Labor is proposing is trimming around the edges, throwing around fancy numbers and pretending to help ordinary people when they're not. We can all see through the Labor mirage."
"All students required to do a placement must get paid. Not a lesser supplementary amount, but at the very least, minimum wage.
"Once again, Labor's half-baked measures fall short of doing what's needed."
As stated by the Australian Medical Students' Association:
"We are deeply disappointed that medical students remain excluded from the Commonwealth Prac payment. The medical degree's structure and high demand results in over 2,000 hours of unpaid labour and study, which cannot be completed part time.
"Without support measures like paid placements, we are cutting out most of society from joining the medical workforce, leaving it only for privileged people who can pay their way through the degree.
"Nobody should be forced to make the choice between paying the bills and contributing to our healthcare system."
As stated by Students Against Placement Poverty:
"The legislation passing through the parliament is labelled as financial support for placement students, but we know that most students will still be missing out entirely. The lucky few will get a few dollars an hour for their work, and will have to wait another year before receiving anything. Placement poverty continues despite what the Labor Party promises to students.
"Students Against Placement Poverty rejects any suggestion that this legislation fixes the issue. We will not stop organising until all placement students are covered by a real payment of at least minimum wage, including international students and students in all the degrees currently ignored by the government."
As stated by Ngaire Bogemann, President of the National Union of Students:
Referring to the new HECS indexation system: "The reality is that even under this change, tertiary students will continue to get a raw deal.
"The reality is placement poverty won't end until all students undertaking mandatory placements are paid at least minimum wage and the Fair Work Act is amended to make unpaid placements illegal.
"The NUS has advocated over many years for an end to placement poverty and is very pleased to see steps taken towards this… However, the promise of a measly $8 an hour is a slap in the face to the many nursing, teaching, midwifery and social work students across the country who are currently providing crucial labour in key skills shortage areas for free."
