ABC News | 29 October 2013
Education Minister Christopher Pyne says he is keeping an open mind about the idea of selling off the debt the government is owed under the Higher Education Contribution Scheme.
There have been suggestions the government’s upcoming Commission of Audit will look at privatising the $23 billion student debt portfolio as a way to ease budget pressure.
The Government says it has no plans to sell off the HECS debt, but Mr Pyne says it should not be ruled out.
Britain have sold their HECS debt as an asset and we should investigate whether that is a sensible move for us to do so.
Industry insiders say the sale would likely earn the Government between $11 billion and $16 billion – that’s a discount of between $7 to $12 billion.
See
Why privatising HECS may not be such a good idea
Withers explains “securitisation”
Former head of Universities Australia backs plan to privatise HECS debt
Hockey rules out privatising HECS debt
