Coalition adopts Committee Recommendation on Youth

The Coalition will move further amendments in the Senate to the Government's flawed Youth Allowance Bill, following recommendations by the Senate's Inquiry into disadvantage faced by rural and regional students, according to Shadow Education Minister Christopher Pyne.

"Under the Coalition's amendments, all students on youth allowance will be better off, receiving for the first time ever a $1000 start-up scholarship. Rural and regional students will have a clear route to University available to them, and no student currently on their gap year preparing to enter University next year and claim Youth Allowance will have the rug pulled out from under their feet.

"Thousands of students and parents are distraught over the Rudd Government's decision to make retrospective changes to Youth Allowance, meaning that over 25,000 students currently undertaking their gap year are set not to receive Youth Allowance in 2010," said Mr Pyne.

"The Coalition has moved amendments to address the retrospective nature of the legislation in the House of Representatives, and will do so again in the Senate. These amendments will ensure the 25,000 young people, who in good faith followed the advice of guidance counsellors and Centrelink to defer studies and undertake a gap year will not be disadvantaged.

"Following the recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into rural and regional disadvantage that looked specifically at this Bill, the Coalition will move to further amend the Youth Allowance legislation in the Senate so that rural students who must leave home in order to study may continue to access independent Youth Allowance by allowing them to access the same gap year provisions that are available at the moment."

"From May to August, Julia Gillard maintained that there was no problem with retrospectivity, and there was no problem for rural students. Under constant pressure from the Opposition, she was forced into a humiliating backflip that saw her legislation changed to remove the retrospectivity for some rural students," Mr Pyne said.

"She therefore admitted that there is a problem with retrospectivity, and with rural disadvantage. But having admitted these problems, her measures to fix them were half baked, as her stay of execution only applies to remote students in 2010. What about their younger brothers and sisters doing their year 12 exams this year, who will be similarly disadvantaged by the changes? The Coalition's new amendments, announced today, will extend Minister Gillard's transition measures into the future.

To maintain Budget neutrality, the Coalition announced a reduction in the rate of the new Start-Up Scholarship. This is a new scholarship that currently no students are receiving, and as it is to be paid in a lump sum at the beginning of each semester, this change will not affect the proposed fortnightly payments to students by even one dollar - despite the misleading spin in the Minister's press releases. The additional cost of the new amendments announced today will be covered within this savings measure.

"We encourage the Government, the Greens and the Independent Senators to support these sensible, fair, amendments."

November 16, 2009

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