Senate Supports Coalition on Youth Allowance
25 Nov 2009
Media release Coalition amendments to remove Labor's retrospective cancellation of youth allowance for 25,000 students currently on their gap year, and also to enable rural students who must leave home to study to continue being able to receive Youth Allowance passed the Senate tonight with the support of the Independents and Greens in addition to Coalition Senators.
The Coalition's fiscally responsible savings measure to keep budget neutrality within the Bill was rejected by the Government, meaning that it is now upon their heads to find an alternative savings measure that the Coalition is happy to negotiate.
The Youth Allowance reforms will now return to the House of Representatives where Labor should accept the Senate's amendments, enabling their reforms to begin on 1 January 2010 with the Coalition's sensible amendments forming part of the package.
"The Coalition's position is rock solid. We are rejecting the retrospective aspect of the legislation, that sees students having the rug pulled out from under their feet after acting upon the advice of Centrelink and guidance counsellors to take a gap year in 2009 to gain Youth Allowance in 2010," said Christopher Pyne, Shadow Minister for Education.
"We're also supporting rural and regional students' right to go to University, not just next year, but into the future. Labor's original Bill would have made it impossible for children from most Australian farming families to gain eligibility for Youth Allowance unless they could find 18 months full time employment of at least 30 hours per week. The Coalition amendments, at the instigation of the Senate Inquiry into this Bill and supported by the cross benches, will mean that students who have to leave home in order to attend University will still be able to demonstrate independence through the 'gap year' provisions currently available," Mr Pyne said.
"The Coalition is absolutely committed to the two principles behind our amendments. We will oppose retrospectively applied legislation, and we will stand up for regional and rural students. If the Government think they can play politics with this legislation in the hope that the Opposition will not insist on these amendments, they are kidding themselves.
It is therefore up to the Deputy Prime Minister, who needs to swallow her pride and support the Bill in its new form. If Labor refuses to accept the Senate's amendments, it will be entirely their fault that no Commonwealth Scholarships are awarded in 2010 - Labor abolished Commonwealth Scholarships earlier this year, and is seeking to replace them in the same bill as their Youth Allowance measures. Placing legislation together in this manner was entirely the decision of the Government, and a full-time Education Minister would have known the consequences.
"I warned the Minister in July that linking the abolition of Commonwealth Scholarships may leave students without scholarships, but her arrogance and mismanagement of these legislative changes has led to this impasse.
"If the Government sends this legislation back to the Senate, we will be insisting on our amendments. If the Government obstinately refuses to accept them, then then on January 1st the Government will need to explain that it was the Minister's intransigence on retrospectivity and her refusal to acknowledge the needs of rural and regional students that lead to this," Mr Pyne said.
November 17, 2009
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