National Rural Women’s Coalition head Karen Tully has applauded the Federal Government’s changes to the Youth Allowance which will ensure equitable application of the program to all rural, regional and remote students in Australia.
Ms Tully recently argued this case at the Senate Legislation Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, in December, 2010, at its inquiry into the Social Security Amendment (Income Support for Regional Students) Bill 2010.
“One-third of Australia’s population lives in regional Australia. The NRWC strongly supports the proposal to amend legislation to allow eligible students from the currently designated ‘Outer Regional’ locations to receive the same support as those from ‘Inner Regional’ ones and we hope that it will be supported by our politicians from all parties and the Independents,” Ms Tully said.
“We (the NRWC) have seen first-hand the serious anomalies from arbitrary geographical boundaries which have resulted from some towns being listed as Inner or Outer locations and believe it is a sensible move to afford support to both groups of students.
“This will go a long way towards improving the access of rural, regional and remote youth to tertiary study with an eventual strong return on investment in their home areas,” Ms Tully explained.
All policies and programs need to be assessed against the impact they could have on rural communities.
The Federal Government needs to ensure that their implementation strategies are practicable in rural areas and that the particular needs of people in rural areas are not overlooked.
The NRWC has made submissions to a number of recent inquiries concerning educational access and equity for rural, regional and remote students.
In all of these submissions the NRWC clearly and repeatedly states that the range of issues that affect rural, regional and remote families with children wishing to undertake tertiary studies are held in common.
They do not alter on either side of what is necessarily an artificial distinction between Outer and Inner locations as defined under current arrangements.
“The NRWC strongly believes that a specific section of Youth Allowance dedicated to rural, regional and remote students will go a long way to addressing the issues of educational opportunity, equity and flexibility,” Ms Tully said.
“Not only will it help to maximise access to tertiary education for students living in these areas, but it will help to make the process of application and acceptance more streamlined and, most importantly, to quickly identify and address the issues specific to these students, their families and communities.”
