DEBT CALCULATOR SHOWS HOW HARD STUDENTS WILL BE HIT

Media Release

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment
 Climate Change and Water

Date:  30 October 2014

A calculator on Labor’s new website will show students, parents and grandparents exactly how much Tony Abbott’s unfair university changes will cost, Federal Member for Port Adelaide Mark Butler said today.

Labor’s campaign to stop Tony Abbott’s $100,000 degrees continues with the launch of a new interactive feature on nodebtsentence.org

The Debt Sentence Calculator allows visitors to enter a chosen degree to find out how much Tony Abbott’s changes will cost them.

“I think people will be shocked at the difference,” Mr Butler said.

“I know for students and their parents in the Port Adelaide electorate considering university next year or the year after this is a genuine concern.

“Labor believes the opportunity to go to university should depend on hard work and good marks, not ability to pay.”

Based on independent modelling the calculator shows the level of debt a university course will incur and how long it will take you to pay it back.

For example, under the current arrangements a female student studying nursing pays $19,410 in HELP repayments over 7 years.

Under Tony Abbott’s unfair university changes, her degree will cost $66,700 and take nearly 17 years to repay.

Additional scenarios are available at www.nodebtsentence.org

The calculator means students, prospective students, and parents in the Port Adelaide electorate can now see – to the dollar – the shocking consequences of an Americanised university system.

While Tony Abbott continues to break election promises and lie to Australians, the Debt Sentence Calculator will show students the hard truth.

“This is taking Australia down the American path of $100,000 degrees and a debt sentence.

“Tony Abbott’s plan to deregulate fees will make attending university an unachievable dream for many young Australians.

“Now students living in the Port Adelaide electorate can calculate exactly how hard they will be hit, and join Labor’s campaign against these unfair changes.”

Labor will fight Tony Abbott’s plan to saddle young Australians with a debt sentence every step of the way.