Prime Minister Gillard and the Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans today trumpeted the success of its reforms to youth allowance while conveniently ignoring the fact that its changes are denying thousands of regional students a tertiary education.
“Prime Minister Gillard, when education minister, made it harder for students living in `inner’ regional areas to qualify for independent youth allowance by making them work harder, for longer,” the Coalition’s Regional Education spokeswoman, Senator Fiona Nash, said.
“Nowhere in her joint media release today does is it mention that these students are struggling to get the assistance, and that they don’t benefit from many of the changes.
“For example, the Parental Income Test applies to dependent students only, so the increased threshold that the PM boasts about makes no difference to independent students.
“Nor are independent students eligible for the Relocation Scholarship which the PM and Minister conveniently fail to mention.”
Senator Nash questioned how many of the 21,000 additional university students in the last 12 months come from inner regional areas. She will be demanding a similar break down of all the figures in the Prime Minister and Minister’s media release during senate estimates.
“If the PM is so confident that regional students are better off then she should take up my written invitation to a debate on independent youth allowance, an invitation neither she nor anyone in her office has bothered to respond to in over nine weeks. If she can’t run her office properly it’s no wonder she can’t run the country properly,” Senator Nash said.
Senator Nash noted the line in the media release that says the government wants to `ensure that the opportunity of a high quality university education is available to all Australians, regardless of their background or where they live’.
“Labor will spin anything to hide the truth. The truth is students who live in inner regional areas are being penalised because of where they live,” Senator Nash said.
“Another sad truth is that the interest we’re all paying on Labor’s debt would cover the cost of extending independent youth allowance to all regional students in just a matter of days. Funny the PM doesn’t mention that!”
Monday, May 23, 2011 5:38 PM
Hi Fiona,
Vanessa just received a reply back from the RTHF informing her she was unsuccessful because her application was incomplete. So what now, sell the house, withdraw specialist programs from my child living with a disability, move to the city or should Vanessa drop out of uni.
The obstacles are becoming too difficult, the stress forever increasing and lack of understanding heartbreaking. I personally would like to invite Julia Gillard into our life, meet my children, look at our budget and tell us we are not a priority for our Government. Maybe she will care for my disabled child so I can go back to work, because there is no such care in rural Australia.
Keeping up the fight, Ros Talbot
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:50 PM
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I read the article in the Dubbo paper re Julia's trumpeting the success of the changes to Youth Allowance being so helpful to Regional students.
Really and truly she can try and spin this thing however she likes, but it changes nothing. Those of us with young Uni students in Regional Australia
trying to access assistance are doing it tough.
If the Government really had the interests of students and their families at heart they would have changed the system immediately to a fairer and more equitable one.
Another kick in the Guts for country people. We are way in the minority and they really don't care.
And to Ros; keep fighting. Sounds like you are doing it tough but don't let Julia off the hook.
Also remember that while Fiona is on our case, we've still got a shot at this.