Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi wants student loans wiped out instead of stage three tax cuts

Controversial Greens senator calls on Australia to ELIMINATE HECS debts for university students instead of tax cuts for wealthy Australians

  • Senator Mehreen Faruqi has called for Australia’s student debt to be eliminated
  • Ms Faruqi recently faced backlash for ‘insensitive’ comments about the Queen
  • She said the money earmarked for stage three tax cuts could be put to better use
  • Critics of tax cuts due to expire in 2024 say they will heavily favor the wealthy
  • The Queen’s Funeral: All the Latest News and Coverage from the Royal Family

A Greens senator has called on the Australian government to scrap student loans rather than spend billions on tax breaks for wealthy Australians.

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The party’s deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, who recently came under fire for a ‘appalling’ tweet about the Queen and imperialism, tweeted on Sunday that Australians were struggling with the cost of living and housing ‘soaring’.

Senator Faruqi said, “It’s time to bring relief to people by eliminating student debt.”

The tax cuts, due to be enacted in 2024, are the third stage of a fiscal plan by the previous coalition government that critics say will cost up to $243 billion and will mainly favor the wealthy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised to keep the tax cuts, an election promise.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi (pictured) wants some of the money earmarked for the stage three tax cuts due in 2024 to be used to erase student debt.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi (pictured) wants some of the money earmarked for the stage three tax cuts due in 2024 to be used to erase student debt.

Critics, including Ms Faruqi, say the tax cuts will favor the rich and promote inequality.

Critics, including Ms Faruqi, say the tax cuts will favor the rich and promote inequality.

The stage three tax cuts would eliminate an entire tax bracket and impose a flat tax rate of 30 cents on the dollar on workers earning between $40,000 and $200,000.

Senator Faruqi’s comments are part of a push by the Greens to use the money instead to erase the HECS and HELP debts of more than 2.9 million Australians at an alleged lower cost of $60.7 billion over the next decade.

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Ms. Faruqi claims that the tax cuts will “further entrench inequality” and that “we should write off student debt to reduce 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 off,” he said.

‘The abolition of all student debt will have enormous positive impacts for millions of people who will be able to afford to live a better life.’

The Greens point to analysis by the Parliament’s Budget Office showing that tax cuts would flow to higher earners and, due to the gender pay gap, to men.

A worker with $72,235 would get a $681 tax break and a worker with $200,000 would get a $9,000 tax benefit, according to estimates by left-leaning think tank the Australia Institute.

There are more than three million Australians with outstanding university debt (stock image)

There are more than three million Australians with outstanding university debt (stock image)

Senator Faruqi came under fire for her comments following the Queen’s passing earlier this month.

‘Condolences to those who knew the Queen. I cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, lands and wealth from colonized peoples,” the senator tweeted.

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“We are reminded of the urgency of the First Nations Treaty, justice and reparations for the British colonies and becoming a republic.”

The tweet garnered hundreds of conflicting comments and prompted One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to launch a racially charged attack on Ms. Faruqi, telling her to “go back to Pakistan”.

Senator Faruqi has indicated that she can file a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission for that attack.

STAGE THREE TAX REDUCTIONS

* Remove the tax bracket from $120,000 to $180,000

* Increase the top tax bracket threshold from $180,000 to $200,000

* Reduce the marginal tax rate facing the $45,000 to $200,000 tax bracket from 32.5% to 30%.

* Changes will create a flat tax rate of 30c per dollar for anyone earning between $40,000 and $200,000

* Tax cuts will cost $243.5 billion

* Of that amount, 6 percent will go to the richest 1 percent of earners and 77 percent will go to the richest 25 percent.

Source: Parliamentary Budget Office

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