HECS debt has now got the the point were up to $2.9 Billion of the $10 Billion owed in HECS will not be repaid.

Doubtful debt or payments that are unlikely to be recovered are created by people who do not earn enough to repay their loan before retiring, those who relocate overseas, and by people dying.

If people aren’t earning enough to pay off their HECS debt then something is seriously wrong. The answer is not to lower the threshold either - the answer is free education.

I’ve done an undergrad and a masters - both in Arts. I now owe about $22,000 and seem to be paying that off at about $2,000 a year. What I could do with an extra $2,000 a year.

And surely raising HECS fees by 25% as most universities have done only makes this problem worse.

Makes me mad.