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Bruce Chapman, Emeritus Professor, College of Business and Economics, Australian National University

The Greens want to cancel all student debt – but this will not make uni education ‘free’

The Australian Greens have long argued tertiary students shouldn’t pay tuition charges. This means they want to see HECS – now called HELP – abolished.

But following the Albanese government’s recent plans to wipe 20% off student loans, on Monday, the Greens announced they want to the cancel all student debt. This would cost the federal budget around A$75 billion.

Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens’ higher education spokesperson, argued, “student debt can’t be fixed because student debt shouldn’t exist”.

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