Dealing with mature students is of interest.... I think we also have to consider the cost of all these things. That's something for the government to look at. I want this to have the maximum chance of being adopted to start with, to make this one step. I don't personally feel we should exclude mature students, but I'm also anxious that we do something that might actually be adopted.
In terms of middle-income students, should we have programs that help all students? Absolutely. Again, this bill is addressed to low-income students. That's the intent here.
I think that answers the main questions.
With respect to financially independent students, I'd also like to discuss with you how that works at the moment, how they're excluded, and at what point they are considered on their own income. At some point it seems to me that they are considered on their own income and not on their parents' income.
The problem is this. If you have a young person who's saying they're financially independent when in fact they can get assistance from their parents and their parents are very well off, then you shouldn't be giving them help when somebody really needs it. To me, the key is to get this to the people who need it the most. If you can find a way to identify those who won't get that kind of assistance and make sure you identify the right people, why not?