The latest #HECS reforms are regressive and will negatively affect working class kids. I didn’t just fail classes in undergrad, I was kicked out of two different unis. As a child of domestic violence and poverty, I struggled with mental health issues as a young adult. (1) #auspol

I felt trapped and I was a mess. It wasn’t until I moved to Melbourne and got accepted by @victoriauninews, where I had working class academics who invested time in me, like Johnny Tully and Adrian Threfall. (2)

Because of the kindness and support I got in the right environment, I was able to find my place, get through undergrad and then get accepted into a masters at @unimelb, from which I graduated with a First Class Honours thesis. (3)

I was even accepted into a PhD program with a full scholarship at the amazing @YRCunimelb, where again I was support by outstanding academics like the inemitable Johanna Wyn, Hernan Cuervo and @DrDanWoodman (4)

Now, I’ve walk the halls of our nations capital to advocate for my research to be used in policy decision. I write articles in national newspapers to try and change discourse. I speak at numerous events, to thousands of people a year on ideas. (5)

I don’t say these things to big up myself; I only acknowledge these aspects of my life to highlight that with the right support system I’ve achieved more than I ever thought possible - And the gruesome reality is I never would have got here under the new rules. (6)

I am bereft at the thought of the next working class kid whose potential will be undermined and wasted because of a government that fundamentally refuses to accept their value. (7)

We need to start removing barriers to education, not strengthening them. Failing a class, or even a couple, should never be an excuse to give up on tens of thousands of young people. They deserve so much better than this policy and this government. (8)