Band-aid measure an insult to country students
01 Dec 2009
Media release The Labor Government's addition of a $20 million fund to their youth allowance legislation is an insult to rural and regional students who will find it impossible to meet the requirements to qualify for independent Youth Allowance into the future, Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education said today.
"The Minister is yet again attempting a band-aid solution to her latest bungle. This new ""Fund"" highlights there is a problem but doesn't fix the fundamentals. Ms Gillard should negotiate with the Coalition, something she has refused to do, to alter the arrangements that apply to students who have to leave home to go to University," Mr Pyne said.
Instead she expects students who need to leave home to go to university to go ""cap in hand"" to a faceless bureaucrat in Canberra to access her newest ""Fund"".
The Minister has not contacted me to discuss this change, or indeed any of her recent amendments, and the Coalition will continue to oppose the legislation until our primary concerns are addressed:
1) The Coalition cannot support legislation that cuts out the 'gap year' pathway to Independent Youth Allowance for students who must leave home to attend University, unless a realistic alternative provision is put in place.
2) The Coalition cannot on principle support legislation that is retrospective in its effect. We note that the Government has moved towards addressing this issue with their new amendments, but we still cannot support their legislation while they are seeking to change the goal posts on any students who made a good faith decision to take a year off in order to earn Independent Youth Allowance based on the advice of Centrelink officials and their schools' careers advisers.
"If the Government refuses to meet our concerns, then they can introduce a new Bill that would provide scholarships for students who might miss out in 2010 due to the mismanagement of the legislative agenda by the Minister, and we'll happily support that," Mr Pyne said.
December 1, 2009
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Adam Howard
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