In another sign of the growing discord on the Government front bench, Prime Minister Tony Abbott‘s contradicted two senior ministers who controversially floated the idea of collecting higher education debts owed by the dead.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne told Fairfax he had no “ideological opposition” to the concept of taxing the estates of former students who died before they finished paying off their HECS debts. He added, “(If) an elderly person passes away with a HECS debt, they wouldn’t be able to say to the bank, we’re not paying back our mortgage, yet they are at the moment entitled to not pay back their HECS debt.”
This morning, former anti-student fees protester and current Treasurer Joe Hockey appeared on Channel Nine to agree with Mr Pyne, saying higher education loans “shouldn’t be different to any other loan… If you owe money to the government or you owe money to the bank that debt is applied to your estate if you pass away, but it doesn’t go to your parents or your siblings or anything else,” which suuuuure is an interesting way to look at it, particularly in the same week a video was released of Mr Hockey as a student protesting a $250 administrative fee on his free education.
Less than an hour later, the PM was on hand to scotch the idea, telling ABC radio the measures – already branded a “death tax” by Labor – wouldn’t go ahead. “This government is not going to change the existing rules, and the
existing rules in respect of university debt … is that they cease on
decease”.
It’s been an interesting week for Mr Abbott, with rumours of backbench disquiet prompting veteran political commentator Bob Ellis to issue a bold prediction: that he’d be gone from the Prime Ministership by next week.
Ellis’ blog post – which opens with “It’s likely Abbott will be overthrown in the next nine days and his
successor Dutton, Hunt or Turnbull rapidly and brutally excise Hockey
from the Treasury” – leans fairly heavily on people-watching as evidence, but comes after prominent Liberal MP Dennis Jensen criticised Government leadership for reducing science and research funding while setting a up a medical research fund. “There appears to be a lack of understanding of how science works,” Dr Jensen said. “Where is the coherent, co-ordinated approach to science policy?”
Watch this space.
Image via Lisa Maree Williams for Getty Images News
