The Coalition’s Regional Education spokesperson, Senator Fiona Nash, has challenged the Independents to finally show they support regional students in their electorates, and agree to make independent youth allowance fair today.
The Coalition will again move to make Independent Youth Allowance fair by proposing an amendment to the Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) legislation that’s being debated in parliament, in the House of Representatives, today.
The amendment seeks to reinstate, from July 1 this year, the former workplace participation criteria for Independent Youth Allowance to `inner regional’ students. These students currently have to work full time for up to two years, while a fairer criteria applies to all other regional students.
The Coalition made a similar move last month by moving an amendment to Appropriations legislation. But that was voted down by Labor and the Independents, excluding Tony Crook, the Member for O'Connor, who supported it.
"The Independents claim they have had a win because the Government has agreed to an earlier time frame for the review into the youth allowance arrangements. This is in fact a false claim – it is no win at all for those students who finished year 12 in 2009 who are still cruelly penalised by the current unfair criteria,” Senator Nash said.
“The Independents have refused to even consider the Coalition’s proposal to take action immediately after the review is handed down rather than delay it for at least another six months.
"The Independents have sold out regional students. They have shown that they would rather support Julia Gillard's Labor government than support regional students in their electorates.
“And the Independent MPs should be very alarmed at the Tertiary Education Minister, Senator Chris Evans’ own admission during senate estimates that the Government has no idea what any changes may be from 2012.
“Today is the Independents opportunity to truly act in the interest of regional students and support the Coalition’s amendment to the FaHCSIA bill. There is no excuse for them to continue to support the Government's unfair treatment of regional students.”
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