HECS Relief Should Mean Real Change, Not Just Headlines

One Nation voted against the Government's HECS bill because it's a con job that's going to leave students, graduates and taxpayers worse off in the long run.

The government has outright lied. The effective debt cut is just 2% taking into account previous indexation - indexation that was made worse because the government caused the inflation crisis.

This Bill does nothing to fix the broken University sector. Here’s what One Nation would do for students:

Publish graduate salary data: Universities should disclose average graduate salaries at one, five, and ten years post-graduation to help students make informed decisions about their degrees.

Cut fees for courses: One Nation proposes reducing fees for subjects that rely heavily on outdated prerecorded lectures and frequent group assignments.

Enforce English standards: Universities should strictly enforce English proficiency for international students to ensure fair group work and protect domestic students’ academic outcomes.

Fix HECS indexation timing: The government should apply withheld HECS repayments before indexation to prevent students from being unfairly charged interest on money already paid.

Increase university accountability: Universities must be held responsible for the quality and outcomes of the degrees they offer, especially when public funds are involved.

All of these things must be fixed or HECS debts will be racked up again and graduates will be back to where they started.

Transcript: https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/hecs-relief-should-mean-real-change-not-just-headlines/