Bella Mitchell-Sears was the Greens’ federal election nominee ahead of the ABC cost-of-living question
A student who dropped out of university due to the rising cost of living described herself as “privileged” when she campaigned as a Green candidate in the last election.
Bella Mitchell-Sears, 20, was at the center of a viral exchange Monday night when she told an ABC Q&A panel that her dream of becoming a high school teacher had been shattered by the steady rise in the cost of living.
She said she felt “forced to suspend my education because I have to work full-time to support myself” and had dropped out of her courses at the University of Melbourne as a result.
It was the second time Ms. Mitchell-Sears has appeared on the program since 2020 to express her concern about the rising cost of college and her own ability to afford an education.
But before discovering her passion for teaching, Ms Mitchell-Sears dreamed of becoming a politician and campaigned for Fraser’s Greens seat in Melbourne’s west during the 2022 federal election – holding a sign for Lidia Thorpe on her front porch .
Bella Mitchell-Sears, 20, has appeared on ABC’s Q&A twice since 2020 to express her concern about the rising cost of college courses and her own ability to afford an education
Photos from the start of her campaign show signs of Ms. Mitchell-Sears next to Lidia Thorpe, who was campaigning for re-election to the Senate at the same time
The seat – held by Labor – had a 6.6 per cent swing in the direction of Ms Mitchell-Sears during her campaign, but she finished third behind both major parties.
In a pre-election campaign speech, Ms. Mitchell-Sears noted that she is “exceedingly privileged in many aspects of life.”
“I am a middle-class white cisgender woman with a steady job and an education,” she said.
“Not everyone in my community is as lucky as I am. People in our electorate are being let down by the two major parties, and it will be my generation that will suffer the consequences.
“Both major parties are not taking action on climate change, childcare and education are becoming out of reach for many and the cost of living continues to rise, while the rich get richer.”
She called for stronger action on climate, along with free and accessible childcare and education.
Photos from the start of her campaign show signs of Ms. Mitchell-Sears next to Thorpe, who was campaigning for re-election to the Senate at the same time.
Ms Thorpe has since left the Greens and is now an independent in parliament.
But on Monday night Ms Mitchell-Sears said she had changed her mind about her political ambitions.
“The last time I asked a question… and I believe it was the Labor member (who) said you should go out and get involved in politics and that’s exactly what I did,” she said.
“But I don’t feel like it’s for me. Still, I want to follow an art course.’
Before discovering her passion for teaching, Ms Mitchell-Sears dreamed of becoming a politician and campaigned for Fraser’s Greens seat in western Melbourne in the 2022 federal election.
The 20-year-old grew up in Footscray and attended local public schools, where she excelled.
She gained admission to a Bachelor of Arts course at the prestigious University of Melbourne majoring in Politics and Media.
She’s had several catering jobs over the years to make ends meet, citing Grill’d, Boost Juice, and McDonalds among her part-time gigs.
“My bills keep rising, owning a house just seems like a pipe dream and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better,” Ms Mitchell-Sears told Q&A
“What would you say to me and other young people in my position, and why do I have to choose between getting an education or putting food on the table?” she asked the TV panel.
She described herself as “privileged” during her campaign as the Greens’ candidate alongside Lidia Thorpe in the 2022 election
Nationals Deputy Leader Perin Davey suggested that Ms. Mitchell-Sears consider moving to a regional community for a career in education.
“If you want to be a secondary teacher, one of the policies we fought for in the last parliament was … and thankfully, honor where it is due, Labor brought it back, to waive HECS debt for key industries,” said Ms Davey.
‘If you get your degree and you commit to a four-year period in the regions, your HECS debt will be forgiven. Consider that an option for the future.’
Labor MP Josh Burns encouraged Ms Mitchell-Sears to consider her options, noting that there will be a review of the country’s university system.
“I think it was a step back to making humanities more expensive (under the Morrison government),” Burns said. “I certainly don’t support that.”
Victorian woman Bella Mitchell-Sears stunned the question and answer panel on the ABC Monday night with the revelation that her cost of living is so high that she had to drop out of her college education
Ms. Mitchell-Sears first appeared on the program in 2020, before embarking on a political career.
At the time, she was a Year 12 student trying to get through the year during Victoria’s Stage 4 Covid lockdown.
She asked the politicians on the panel at the time, Andrew Bragg and Jordon Steele-John, how they “justified” the decision to raise the cost of art schools.
She said: ‘Recent changes have caused the price of my degree to skyrocket, making a political career seem further out of reach.
“How do you justify a drastic increase in the price of my tertiary education, especially in already unstable economic times?”