International students are vital to the economy. They spend billions in tuition fees, provide classes with new perspectives and ideas, and help foster international relations. They also contribute to the wider economy by working in hard to fill casual jobs, and spending locally on rent, hospitality and retail. 

Their families have often saved for many years so they can study in Australia and any work they do is on minimum wage for limited hours. Yet New South Wales is the only jurisdiction in the country that does not offer them student transport concessions, requiring them to pay full fares.

We want international students to have a good experience studying here and we should help them avoid hardship in what is becoming one of the world’s most expensive cities to live. The budget costs would be modest and in Parliament, I spoke in support of a petition for international student travel concessions. I thanked the Students’ Representative Council and the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association for creating the petition, and Greens member for Newtown Jenny Leong for bringing it to the house.  

My speech > HERE.