The Australian Greens have today announced their plan to make university and TAFE free for students around the country, something that would be a priority for the party in minority government.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP will join Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Higher Education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, to launch the plan in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s electorate of Grayndler.
Under the Greens’ plan, the government would cover all fees (including the Student Services and Amenities Fee) for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at public universities, and all fees for students studying TAFE qualifications.
The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates this would cost $46.5 billion dollars over the forward estimates.
The Greens say this would be paid for by taxing the big corporations, a previously announced Greens’ policy which would raise $514 billion dollars over the next decade.
Independent polling shows that a clear majority of people support free university and TAFE (58 per cent), with 68 per cent of Australians agreeing that student debt levels are too high. The National Union of Students has also called for free higher education.
Then and now
As the Greens have pointed out, when the prime minister studied a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Sydney, he paid a total of $0 in fees. A student starting the same degree today is facing nearly $51,000 in debt by the end of a three year degree – a debt that will only increase with indexation.
Mr Albanese is not the only Labor minister who enjoyed the benefit of a free education. Many other current cabinet ministers enjoyed the benefit of a free higher education. The Attorney-General would be looking at an almost $90,000 debt if he were to study a similar qualification today, and this is again before any indexation is applied.
The costs of degrees and qualifications have skyrocketed, with the average student debt for people in their twenties doubling in less than 20 years.
In 2023-2024, the Australian government collected almost five times more from students ($5.1b) than from petroleum companies through the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT) ($1.1b).
Morrison hikes remain in place
After three years in government, Labor has failed to scrap the funding cuts and fee hikes of the disastrous Morrison-era job-ready graduates package, which has been labelled the single biggest issue facing higher education. This has led to $50,000 Arts degrees and a doubling in the number of students with student debts exceeding $100,000.
Currently, almost 3 million Australians have a HELP debt, totalling over $81 billion, with an average debt of $27,641.
The Greens say that right now, young people are bearing the brunt of the cost of living crisis, struggling to put a meal on the table, afford to keep a roof over their heads, and go to the dentist, all while dealing with crushing student debt from the skyrocketing cost of higher education.
They say that a vote for the Greens this election will keep Dutton out and get Labor to act on making university and TAFE free for all. The Greens will also wipe all student debt, a previously announced election policy.
Adam Bandt MP, Leader of the Australian Greens, said ‘The Prime Minister benefited from free university education but he refuses to give young people the same opportunity. Young people are being crushed by increasing student debt while they struggle with paying rent or affording the basics, in a housing and cost of living crisis.
‘In a wealthy country like ours, everyone should be able to have a good quality education. One in three big corporations pay zero tax. We should tax big corporations and billionaires to fund what we all need, like free tertiary education.
Watching from the sidelines
Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson on Higher Education, said ‘Prime Minister Albanese, who went to uni for free, is now watching from the sidelines as young people’s dreams of going to university turn into nightmares.
‘Young people are rethinking going to university because of skyrocketing fees or they are drowning in decades of debt, while Labor tinkers around the edges at best,’ she said.
‘It beggars belief that the government collected almost five times more in student debt last year than profiteering gas companies paid in PRRT. It is time to turn the tables, make big corporations pay their fair share in tax so everyone can go to TAFE and uni for free.
‘Anthony Albanese and his ministers who had the benefit of free university education have pulled up the ladder behind them and condemned generations of their constituents to be saddled with a lifetime of student debt.
‘We are in the prime minister’s electorate reminding him that he would have a debt of at least $51,000 for his economics degree at Sydney Uni if he enrolled today. Would he think it fair to start his working life in the red?’ asked Senator Faruqi.
‘Student debt can’t be fixed because student debt shouldn’t exist. University and TAFE should be free as it used to be, whether you are leaving school, changing careers, retraining or looking to gain new skills and knowledge.
‘In a minority parliament, the Greens will keep Dutton out and get Labor to act on wiping all student debt and making education free because that is what real change looks like.’
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