Greens Leader Adam Bandt was blasted after wrongly claiming Australian students will be forced to pay billions in interest on their loans following recent interest rate rises.
Mr Bandt warned university students on Monday that they will owe an additional $2.7billion in interest this year on their HECS-HELP loans in total – but was quickly contradicted by social media users.
‘If you’ve got a student loan, these interest rate rises will hit you too,’ Mr Bandt claimed on Twitter.
‘Uni students are going to get hit with $2.7billion in interest this year.’
Greens Leader Adam Bandt (pictured) has faced backlash after confusing Australia’s student loan system with the United States
Mr Bandt came under fire for confusing Australia’s student loan system with the one used in the United States – with the Greens MP criticised for seemingly not understanding how student loan repayments work.
‘We don’t have student loans here in Australia, we have HECS which doesn’t accrue interest,’ one person wrote.
‘We have HECS/HELP you imbecile … you should know this,’ another user wrote.
‘Basic stuff Adam. There is no interest on HECS. It’s indexed to inflation,’ a third chimed.
Another user commented: ‘Slightly embarrassing that the leader of a major Australian political party doesn’t even know the very basics of the policy he’s criticising.’
‘HECS/HELP loans have a 0% real interest rate, and in fact higher rates lower nominal interest on student debt by lowering inflation.’
In a social media post shared on Twitter (pictured), the Greens leader claimed interest rate rises would directly impact student debt and labelled the government loan scheme ‘unsustainable’
HECS-HELP sees the government pay a student’s tuition fees while they complete their degree.
Repayments are deducted automatically by the government when a graduate earns over $47,014 a year. The total repayments scale up depending on an individual’s salary.
University debt does not accumulate interest and is adjusted yearly by the Australian Taxation Office based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
But the Greens claim Mr Bandt’s remarks are justified as the CPI is in turn influenced by interest rate rises. They argue that when interest rates increase, so does the Consumer Price Index, which in turn has a flow-on effect on increased student debts.
On June 1, almost three million Australians with an outstanding student debt were hit with a 3.9 per cent repayment increase – 0.6 per cent more than last year’s rate.
The repayment increase means students with an average debt of $23,685 owed an additional $920.
In 2021, 2.9million Australians had an outstanding HECS-HELP debt totalling $68.7billion – $2.3billion higher than the previous year (pictured, students on graduation day at the University of Sydney)
Mr Bandt ended his Twitter post urging the government to rid Australians of their ‘unsustainable’ student debts.
‘This isn’t sustainable. The Government needs to wipe student debt,’ Mr Bandt wrote.
The Greens leader promised to abolish student debts and vowed to make university and TAFE free if his party gained power at the election in May.
According to the Australian Taxation Office, there were 2.9million Australians with an outstanding debt totalling $68.7billion in 2021 – $2.3billion higher than 2020.
Mr Bandt received criticism widespread criticism after he refused to stand alongside the Australian national flag in a press conference (pictured, Adam Bandt in front of the Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Island flag)
The Greens leader received widespread criticism after he refused to stand alongside the Australian national flag at a press conference on June 20.
A member of his staff was seen removing the flag from behind the podium before the presser at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices in Sydney.
The controversial move meant that only the Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Island flag could be seen behind him as he spoke to the cameras.
One journalist said she saw a Greens staffer remove the Australian flag from behind the podium before Mr Bandt spoke – leaving the Torres Strait Island and Aboriginal flags in place
The flag, first flown after federation in 1901, has the Union Jack in the upper left corner to acknowledge the history of British settlement.
‘For many Australians, this flag represents dispossession and the lingering pains of colonisation,’ Mr Bandt said.
‘Through Treaty with First Nations’ Peoples and by moving to a Republic, we can have a flag that represents all of us.’
A review of Mr Bandt’s previous TV interviews shows he always has the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the background, but never the nation’s flag.
Mr Bandt added later that the Union Jack symbol is hurtful to Indigenous Australians.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese weighed on Mr Bandt’s ‘divisive’ actions and urged the Greens leader to ‘reconsider his position’.
Mr Bandt does not have an Australian flag in his office in parliament (pictured during a live cross with Sky News)
Mr Albanese said the move undermined the country’s journey towards reconciliation while speaking to reporters on June 22.
‘(Mr Bandt) needs to think about the responses that have been made, and reconsider his position and work to promote unity and work to promote reconciliation,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘I’m always very proud to stand in front of the Australian flag and I think anyone who is a member of the Australian Parliament should do so as well.
‘Reconciliation is about bringing people together on the journey that we need to undertake. It’s undermined if people look for division rather than look for unity.’
A review of Mr Bandt’s previous TV interviews shows he always has the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the background, but never the nation’s flag.
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