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Controversial Greens senator calls on Australia to wipe out uni students’ HECS debt instead of tax cuts for wealthy Aussies
- Senator Mehreen Faruqi has called for wipe out Australia’s student debt
- Ms Faruqi was recently resonated for ‘insensitive’ comments about the Queen
- She said money set aside for stage three tax cuts could be put to better use
- Critics of the tax cuts due in 2024 say they will largely favor the rich
- The Queen’s Funeral: All the latest news and coverage about the royal family
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A senator from the Greens has called on the Australian government to wipe out student loans instead of spending billions on tax cuts for wealthy Aussies.
The party’s deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi – who recently came under fire for a ‘terrible’ tweet about the Queen and imperialism – tweeted Sunday that Australians were struggling with the ‘sky-high’ cost of living and housing.
Senator Faruqi said, “It’s time to give people relief by clearing student debt.”
The tax cuts, due to be implemented in 2024, are the third phase in a tax plan from the previous coalition government that critics say will cost up to $243 billion and especially benefit the wealthy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to uphold the tax cuts – an election promise.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi (pictured) wants some of the money earmarked for stage three tax cuts in 2024 to be used instead to clear student debt
Critics, including Ms Faruqi, say the tax cuts will benefit the rich and promote inequality
The phase three tax cuts would remove an entire tax bracket and impose a flat tax rate of 30c in the dollar on employees earning between $40,000 and $200,000.
Senator Faruqi’s comments are part of an effort by the Greens to use the money instead to wipe off the HECS and HELP debts of more than 2.9 million Australians at a purportedly lower cost of $60. 7 billion in the next decade.
Ms Faruqi said the tax cuts will “further embed inequality” and that “we need to cancel student debt to narrow the inequality gap.”
“Many current MPs, including the Prime Minister, went to university when it was free, but now students are saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt that often takes decades to pay back,” she says.
“Abolishing all student debt has huge positive consequences for millions of people who can afford to live a better life.”
The Greens point to an analysis by the Parliamentary Budgets Office showing that the tax cuts would flow to higher incomes and, because of the gender pay gap, to men.
A $72,235 employee would receive a $681 tax cut, and a $200,000 employee would receive a $9,000 tax break, according to estimates by the left-wing think tank, the Australia Institute.
There are more than three million Australians with outstanding university debts (file image)
Senator Faruqi has been criticized for her comments following the Queen’s death earlier this month.
“Congratulations to those who knew the Queen. I cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth from colonized peoples,” the senator tweeted.
“We are reminded of the urgency of a treaty with First Nations, justice and reparations for British colonies and becoming a republic.”
The tweet garnered hundreds of mixed reactions, prompting One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to launch a racially charged attack on Ms Faruqi, telling her to “p*** back to Pakistan.”
Senator Faruqi has indicated that she can file a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission about the attack.
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