No to Privatising HECS!

Dear Mr Abbott and Mr Pyne,

I am a current university student. I am in my first year of a 5.5 year degree, and I have no qualms in telling you that by the end of my degree, my HECS debt will be upwards of $45 000. Why am I telling you this?

Well, the thing is, I came to university under the premise that, when I graduated, I would have interest free loans to pay back later on in life. However recently I've read that you want to privatise HECS? What is this?

Do you want to prevent high school students from transiting on to university because they know that the fees for university would only grow if HECS debt was to be privatised? If you have a heart, then the answer is no.

At the current time, I am living away from home and studying at university. Already, just one year into my degree, I have the financial strain pressing down on me simply from living away from home. However, if you were to privatise HECS, then this strain would increase exorbitantly because I doubt that the loans would continue to be interest free. I highly doubt that there would be a high threshold set so that we don't have to pay back those loans until we start earning that amount.

And you know what... Why us? Why us when you politicians get paid holidays left, right and centre which come from OUR tax dollars. Why the university students of today? Why should it be us to suffer? We aren't the ones who have 'broken' the budget. For that, you have only yourselves to blame.

Therefore, the privatisation of HECS is not a good thing for the future of education in Australia. You expect every kid out there to have parents who are wealthy enough to pay their way through university or pay back their loans when they're done, however, this isn't the case! Privatising HECS would widen the gap between rich and poor, because you're basically saying that only the rich deserve to go to university.

As a past public school student, I take offence. The only difference between kids who go to private schools and kids who go to public schools is the amount of money their parents can afford to pay. You have astounding, bright and incredible kids who come out of public schools and go on to top their university course because they've worked just that little bit harder to be there. Especially in Queensland at the moment, where getting a good OP depends on how your cohort does at QCS. But let's not talk about that.

Let's talk about the fact that you want bright and educated individuals entering the job market in Australia. Now tell me how this is going to happen if these bright and educated individuals end up living on the street because you privatised HECS? Even worse, what if these bright and educated individuals decide not to go to university in the first place because of the loans which will only grow each year during and after their degree finishes?

What then? Are you really doing what's best for Australia? Or are you doing what's best for you? Selling off HECS won't fix the budget problems. Instead of receiving payments each year from individuals earning over the threshold and paying their HECS back, you'll receive a lump sum payment for HECS which I guarantee will be spent as soon as you get it and won't fix any problems.

So please, for the sake of past, present and future university students, don't privatise HECS. It's not worth it.

Kind regards,

Georgina