A video of university students in the 1970s outraged young Australians, with many claiming the footage showed life was much more affordable for boomers.
The clip, shared by ABC News on TikTok on Monday, included a segment from the national broadcaster’s current affairs show, which aired in the late 1960s and 1970s.
The video showed college students in 1977 breaking down their expenses and asking them about their government allowances.
University students received a subsidy through the Labor government’s Tertiary Education Assistance Scheme.
The scheme was introduced in 1974, when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam not only abolished university fees, but also allowed full-time students to receive a living allowance.
One student (pictured) explained that she received $43 a week, which is equivalent to $284.74 in today’s terms, and spends $14 of that on rent.
One student told the program that she received an allowance of $43 per week, which, adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to $284.74 in 2024.
She then broke down her expenses: ‘$14 goes to rent, I pay $8 for food, and then there’s gas, electricity, phone bills and transportation costs, food, something like that when I’m in college.’
The student explained that she would have between $8 and $10 left over after her “absolutely essential” expenses.
He added that the remaining money would go toward stationery and books, which he described as his “main expense.”
Another said students were opposed to the government introducing a higher education loan scheme.
“We are totally against any government-administered loan scheme designed to replace or supplement earmarks,” he said.
Another student explained that he received funding from the ‘Aboriginal Tertiary Scholarship Programme’ and without it he would not be able to pay for his education.
The young man said he would be “completely at the mercy of the Department of Education, if they decide to pay the fees.”
“I mean, I couldn’t do it myself,” he said.
The government’s plan divided students into three categories that determined the amount of their allowance.
Dependent students living at home would receive a maximum subsidy of $24 per week, dependent students away from home would receive a maximum of $38 per week, and independent students would receive up to $43 per week.
The video got a huge response on social media, with many young Australians stunned by the affordability and cost of living during the 1970s.
“Sorry he said $14 in rent and then $8 in food…please can we bring this back please?” one person commented.
“It’s surprising to see how far our quality of life has fallen,” a second person wrote, while another claimed that “life was easy back then.”
“It’s really sad, Australia used to be a good place to live, now our younger generations are doomed before they start,” chimed in a fourth.
Another student explained that he had a scholarship and would be “completely at the mercy of the Department for Education” if the government decided to reintroduce university fees or education loans.
Another person used the RBA’s inflation calculator and found that the student’s $14 weekly rent in 1977 would be equivalent to $92.71 in 2024.
The average weekly rent in Australia is currently $630, with the figure being much higher in cities like Sydney, where the cost can reach $1,053.56.
Social media users said it was nearly impossible to find a place to rent for $92 a week, with one person explaining that they spend 70 percent of their income on rent alone.
‘Your rent is 32 percent of your income and with my GOOD DEAL I pay 70 percent of my income for rent, if I literally moved somewhere else I will be paying 80 percent of my minimum income for rent. This is unacceptable,’ they wrote.
Others pointed out that the students were baby boomers and criticized the generation for criticizing millennials and Gen Z Australians struggling to make ends meet.
‘So now they were much better off than us… and these boomers have the nerve to criticize us, when 60 percent of our salaries are spent on a single rental!’ one person wrote.
“Their generation will continue to tell us that they had it just as hard, if not harder, and that we’re just lazy,” another commented.
“It’s ironic that people get paid to study and tell new generations they have to pay HECS,” chimed in a third.
A fourth person added: ‘These are the same people telling us to stop eating avocado toast and Netflix and we can buy property.’
