Australian Government Goes Full Rihanna, Decides To Chase Up Unpaid HECS From Expats

Takin’ no more shit, like Rihanna in her song, ‘Bitch Better Have My Money‘, Aussie expats aren’t going to be spared from paying off their debt whilst living abroad. The Australian Government is chasing an estimated $400 million in unpaid HECS debts from students living overseas. That figure is based on conservative estimates taken between 1989-2011, so that figure could be much higher.

Now before we all go jumping up and down, deflecting this issue to the completely seperate (and IMHO more significant) problem of corporate tax avoidance, let’s just simmer down a little.

Why shouldn’t professionals who have benefited from Australia’s HECS scheme in obtaining their degrees pay back their debts? After all, they owe much of their success to a University pay scheme that is one of the most generous in the world. Ask any American graduate saddled with private debt and crippling interest for perspective on the issue.

This is an equity issue. Not a ‘the government hates students and young people’ issue. Countries like Sweden, Canada and Great Britain all have similar measures in place to ensure the sustainability of their fee help programs. The rules are the same and the salary threshold is the same ($49.095 a year for those playing at home).

While Christopher Pyne tried to create more cashflow by reforming higher education and deregulating fees, debt chasing makes far more sense. Instead of trying to generate more cash flow, Malc and his band of crusaders are instead just making sure that they collect the money that’s already theirs.

The only time it’s ok to run from your debts is when your mum asks where the change is from that twenty she gave you for lunch. The sustainability of a system that allows people from all backgrounds the opportunity to get a University education is pretty damn important, especially in the land of the ‘fair go’, #straya.

…And here’s one for all you RiRi fans out there: