Greens Renew Calls to Scrap Indexation as Student Debts Forecasted to Increase by 4.8 Percent

An expert said the Greens’ call was unfair to the many Australians who did not go to university and whose taxes are paying for these degrees.

Students walk around Sydney University's campus in Australia, on April 6, 2016. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The Australian Greens Party has renewed its call for abolishing indexation on student debts following a new analysis but an expert said indexation was critical to ensure Australian taxpayers would not suffer losses from the student loan program.

According to parliamentary library projections released by the Greens on April 18, the amount of HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) debt owned by around 3 million students across the country would rise by 4.2 to 4.8 percent on June 1 due to indexation.