Greens to announce plan to wipe all student debt
Sarah Basford Canales
The Greens will announce its $74bn plan to wipe all student debt as it looks to snatch a seat off Labor in inner-city Melbourne.
The minor party will reveal the proposal in Wills, held by Labor’s Peter Khalil, with their candidate, Samantha Ratnam, who led the party in Victoria for nearly seven years.
Costings from the Parliamentary Budget Office show the policy to wipe all student debt would cost $55bn over the next four years and $74bn over the decade. The Greens estimate this will save someone with a debt of $27,600 about $5,500 a year.
The Greens’ education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, said the policy would make a “real, tangible difference to so many people doing it tough”.
Student debt can’t be fixed because student debt shouldn’t exist. All student debt should be wiped. If Anthony Albanese can go to uni for free, so should everyone else.
It comes as Labor announced last week it would slash Hecs debts by 20% if it wins at the next federal election.
The Greens say they would pass any bill to reduce student debts in this term if Labor were to bring the proposal forward.
Key events
Naplan scores remained stable amid Covid school closures: new study
New research from UNSW shows that Naplan scored remained stable during Covid-related school closures, while other countries reported learning losses.
The research, published earlier this year, analysed Naplan test scores across Australian states – comparing differences in student performance based on varying periods of remote learning between 2020 and 2021, with school closures ranging from 9 to 157 days.
Dr Nalini Prasad said students in schools which operated remotely for an extended time “performed similarly to students in schools which were closed for a relatively short period”.
Australia adopted a zero-Covid policy which used lockdowns – and other non-pharmaceutical interventions –pre-emptively to eliminate the transmission of Covid-19.
Per capita Covid case numbers and deaths were considerably lower in Australia. Low Covid case numbers meant that students did not have to miss school due to contracting the virus.
Researchers used Naplan test scores from 2013-2019 as baseline data, comparing them with scores from 2021 and 2022. The data also suggested remote attendance rates were comparable to, and sometimes exceeded, typical in-person schooling levels.
Matt Keogh on Aukus, second Trump presidency
Matt Keogh was also questioned on what he thinks the challenges will be for the Australian government amid a second Trump presidency?
He pointed to comments from treasurer Jim Chalmers and noted there would be “some economic bumps on the road that will be effecting not just Australia but the globe.”
Keogh said the government is prepared to weather this “through flexible interest rates”, adding:
We understand regardless of who is in charge of the White House or what is happening across the globe, what matters to Australians is being able to make ends meet themselves.
He also expressed confidence in the Aukus deal under Trump, telling the program that legislation went through Congress recently with a “broad cross-section of support.”
We expect that to continue even under a Trump Presidency.
Veteran’s affairs minister on progress of oversight body
The minister for Veterans’ affairs and defence personnel, Matt Keogh, was up on ABC News Breakfast earlier to mark Remembrance Day.
Asked how soon an independent oversight body will be set up to examine government progress in implementing the recommendations of the royal commission into Veteran suicides, he said:
We only received that report in September. 122 recommendations are backed up by seven volumes and 3,100 pages of report. There is quite a bit of detail there, but we understand the importance and urgency of this work and that is why we have committed to responding by the end of the year.
Aldi officials to face consumer watchdog probe
Executives from supermarket giant Aldi are set to be grilled on the state of the sector, AAP reports, as the consumer watchdog examines rising prices at the checkout.
Aldi officials will be questioned by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over the next two days as part of its latest round of hearings into supermarkets.
While Coles and Woolworths have come under fire for their market share and accusations of price gouging, Aldi is the next largest player in the grocery industry.
Aldi holds just 9% of supermarket sales nationally, compared to the 67% market share of Coles and Woolworths. The consumer watchdog previously said it had taken two decades for Aldi to reach a 9% market share, indicating there were issues with competition in the supermarket industry.
This demonstrates the level of difficulty entering and expanding in supermarket retailing, and the significant investment, time and differentiated offering required to expand.
Officials for Coles, Woolworths and Metcash – the parent company of IGA – will also front the commission’s inquiry in coming days. The hearings into supermarkets are being held ahead of a final report being delivered to the federal government in February.
Conroy on tensions between the US and China
Pat Conroy was also asked about increasing tensions between the US and China over a number of issues, including tariffs and Taiwan, under Trump – and what is Australia doing to prepare for this?
He told ABC RN the government had been “very honest with the Australian public that we live in an era of geopolitical competition in Indo-Pacific”.
Prime minister [Anthony] Albanese made a series of announcements with President [Joe] Biden around critical minerals, and we would expect the United States to continue to focus on that area.
Obviously, President [Donald] Trump and his administration will have their own approach, but it’s been very clear that a lot of countries have been overly reliant on one supply source, and there’s going to be a real focus on supply chain resilience and sovereignty across the world. That’s why we’re investing in making missiles in this country, that’s why we’re investing in a future made in Australia.
Pat Conroy confident of Aukus deal future amid Trump administration
The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, is speaking with ABC RN about the Aukus agreement – and how safe he believes this is under a Trump administration in the US.
Conry said he was very confident, with the plan being “in the strategic interests of all three countries involved” and “strong bipartisan support in the United States.”
Conroy was also asked about news that former secretary of state Mike Pompeo won’t be part of the administration. As the host noted, Pompeo was a strong supporter of Aukus, and Richard Marles and Penny Wong had met with him in recent months to discuss the future of the deal under a potential Trump administration.
Asked if this is a blow to Aukus, Conroy responded:
No, I don’t believe so. Ministers of the Australian government have been engaging with Republican opinion leaders for a number of years, just as we engage with Democratic [leaders], so I’m confident that the strong … United States [support] for Aukus will continue … because it’s in the US interest.
Conroy was also asked about calls from Labor luminaries, such as former premier Bob Carr, for the deal to be reconsidered amid the Trump victory. Conroy said he respects their opinions but “the will of the party was clearly expressed at the national conference, where a very strong majority supported Aukus”.
Henry Belot
Media watchdog to call for new powers to fight misinformation on social media
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) will today reiterate its call for more powers to combat misinformation and disinformation on social media.
The communications watchdog believes a code of practice on misinformation and disinformation – which has been signed by Adobe, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Redbubble, TikTok, Twitch and Legitimate – lacks enforcement power.
In a submission to a senate committee, Acma warned:
There is no regulatory backstop to either compel digital platforms to become signatories or hold them accountable if they breach their obligations.
Acma will appear before the parliamentary inquiry today and continue its call for tougher legislation:
To be both effective and enforceable, the code must be supported by key performance indicators linked to code commitments and measurable through high-quality sets of Australian-relevant data. This is essential to hold signatories accountable to their commitments and provide transparency to Australians on the effectiveness of these measures.
Will Dutton copy Trump’s campaign? Opposition leader to focus on cost of living and migration
Sarah Basford Canales
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has flagged his election campaign will focus on cost of living and migration, linking the latter to the release of 224 unlawful non-citizens who had been in indefinite detention.
In a press conference yesterday, Dutton was asked if the Coalition would mirror Donald Trump’s successful election campaign in the US.
Dutton responded the opposition would run its “own campaign” but flagged some of the issues in the US, such as “migration”, were a focus in Australia too.
The opposition leader turned to the release of hundreds of immigration detainees, known as the NZYQ cohort, following a high court decision in November 2023 that indefinite detention is unlawful. Dutton inaccurately claimed the Albanese government had a choice in their release, and described the entire cohort as “hardened criminals”.
Certainly cost of living, certainly interest rates, certainly migration because the government has released over 200 hardened criminals from immigration detention when they didn’t need to do so ... so our country is less safe as a result of the decisions that the Albanese government’s made and we are poorer as a community as well. I think they’re the issues that really will be front of mind for Australians at the next election.
While a number of the non-citizens within the cohort have had serious criminal convictions, some have had their visas cancelled for fraud, “other non-violent offences”, or lower level offences, such as common assaults.
In response to the high court’s ruling last November, Labor and the Coalition passed changes imposing strict conditions, including electronic monitoring and curfews, to those released.
Last week, the high court again ruled against the government’s powers, saying it breached the separation of powers. The judges said the conditions were “a form of extra-judicial collective punishment based on membership of the class”.
The following day, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, made new regulations to regain the power to impose the conditions where someone “poses a substantial risk of seriously harming any part of the Australian community by committing a serious offence”.
Remembrance Day events set to take place across Australia
Australians will pause for a minute of silence at 11am to honour the thousands who died in military conflicts in commemoration services around the nation.
As AAP reports, a national service will take place at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where the governor general, Sam Mostyn, will deliver a commemorative address. After the commemoration, Anthony Albanese and Mostyn will make an announcement about a military honour.
In Sydney, a service at the Martin Place Cenotaph will begin at 10.30am, while the Opera House will be illuminated with images of poppies at dawn and dusk.
RSL Queensland said more than 140 events would take place at sub-branches state-wide, with its official Queensland service taking place at Brisbane’s Anzac Square from 10.15am.
RSL Western Australia will use the occasion to call for DNA donations to try to help identify unnamed fallen soldiers from the 32nd Battalion that took part in one of World War I’s most devastating battles in July 1916. RSL WA’s official service will be held at the State War Memorial in Kings Park.
Greens to announce plan to wipe all student debt
Sarah Basford Canales
The Greens will announce its $74bn plan to wipe all student debt as it looks to snatch a seat off Labor in inner-city Melbourne.
The minor party will reveal the proposal in Wills, held by Labor’s Peter Khalil, with their candidate, Samantha Ratnam, who led the party in Victoria for nearly seven years.
Costings from the Parliamentary Budget Office show the policy to wipe all student debt would cost $55bn over the next four years and $74bn over the decade. The Greens estimate this will save someone with a debt of $27,600 about $5,500 a year.
The Greens’ education spokesperson, Mehreen Faruqi, said the policy would make a “real, tangible difference to so many people doing it tough”.
Student debt can’t be fixed because student debt shouldn’t exist. All student debt should be wiped. If Anthony Albanese can go to uni for free, so should everyone else.
It comes as Labor announced last week it would slash Hecs debts by 20% if it wins at the next federal election.
The Greens say they would pass any bill to reduce student debts in this term if Labor were to bring the proposal forward.
Welcome
Emily Wind
Good morning and welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through our live coverage this Monday.
Today, the Greens are set to announce its $74bn plan to wipe all student debt as it looks to snatch a seat off Labor in inner-city Melbourne. The minor party will reveal the proposal in Wills, held by Labor’s Peter Khalil, with their candidate Samantha Ratnam, who led the party in Victoria for nearly seven years. Sarah Basford Canales will have all the details soon.
Meanwhile, Australians will pause to honour the thousands who died in military conflicts in commemoration services around the nation. As AAP reports, a national service will take place at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where governor general Sam Mostyn will deliver a commemorative address.
After the commemoration, Anthony Albanese and Mostyn will make an announcement about a military honour. We’ll bring you more details soon.
As always, if you have any questions, tips or feedback, you can get in touch via X @emilywindwrites or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s get started.
