Government back-flip with triple pike on independent youth allowance
14 Sep 2011
Media release HON CHRISTOPHER PYNE MP
Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training
SENATOR FIONA NASH
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education
After years of refusing to address regional disadvantage for independent youth allowance the Gillard Government is now doing a back-flip with triple pike.
For two years the Coalition has been calling on the Government to allow inner regional students to be treated in the same manner as outer regional, rural and remote students.
The Coalition has moved multiple Private Member and Senator Bills, Amendments and Motions to rectify this blunder and those attempts have been rejected by the Government again and again.
Regional Labor Members have consistently voted down every Coalition Bill, Amendment and Motion that would have fixed this problem giving students certainty.
The Coalition even took a policy to give inner regional students independent youth allowance to the 2010 election, while the Government did not even acknowledge it.
Now the Minster for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, has proposed changes to address this issue in an attempt to clear up Julia Gillard’s original mess by giving inner regional students the same access as outer regional, rural and remote students. These changes will not come into effect until January 2012.
While the Government claims employment undertaken over the period since a student has left school will be counted towards the independence test, even if that work was done prior to 1 January 2012, and the workforce participation criteria will not be changed, we will wait and see the details because Australians know this Government cannot be trusted.
What we do know is the $30 million rural tertiary hardship fund will be abolished, access to youth allowance for Masters coursework has been dumped and all start-up scholarships and some relocation scholarships will be slashed to pay for this change.
The billions of dollars wasted in the education portfolio under Ms Gillard’s stewardship would have paid for these changes several times over.
Regional students and parents now know they cannot rely on the Gillard Labor Government to ever get it right. The Coalition will be carefully scrutinising these reforms to ensure they live up to the Government’s promises.
September 14, 2011
Mr Pyne’s office: Adam Howard 0400 414 833
Senator Nash’s office: Sophie Drew 02 6277 3075