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>College students will have to pay the cost of their college educations one way or another. Either with loan repayments or higher taxes.

If I'm buying a hundred thousand tuitions, presumably I can negotiate a lower price far easier than if I'm buying one. Additionally, even if their total monthly income was the same, not being in a large amount of debt could be a positive. Many would feel more comfortable taking a loan to start a business or build a house, and it would be easier to justify spending without needing to worry about debt interest.

Having it tied to income definitely makes it less crippling for those who have trouble in the job market after college. Like most grads after 2008 in the US for example, who got unlucky.

Perhaps you meant "e.g." ("for example") and not "i.e." ("that is")? Because I'm pretty sure boarding costs aren't the only issue. I don't know about Australia, but tuition in Japan is much more reasonable than in the US.