I am responding to an article recently published on the Tweed Coast Weekly website titled ‘Youth Allowance changes help regional students’.
It infers the federal Labor Government has made changes to make independent youth allowance fair, which is inaccurate. What the government has done is finally concede it got it wrong, requiring ‘inner regional’ students to work full-time and defer tertiary studies for up to two years to qualify for the assistance.
The government has only agreed to bring forward a review of youth allowance to July this year. Any changes will not be made until at least January 2012. It was a move to secure the Independents’ support to block a Coalition bill that would have immediately applied the same, fair criteria for all regional students no matter where they live.
There are no guarantees that changes will be made for the better after the review. The Tertiary Education Minister, Senator Chris Evans, admitted that during the recent senate estimates. He said: “the answer isn’t as some people seem to think from the 1st January next year (that) inner regional students will get the same conditions as outer regional students.”
Given Labor’s record of failure, it would be wise to be cautious.
The Coalition will not give up its fight for a fair deal for country students, and has challenged the Prime Minister to a debate on youth allowance in regional Australia.
Senator Fiona Nash
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education
The Nationals Senator for
NSW, Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate
