The Rudd Labor Government’s failure to fix the youth allowance mess has left tertiary students facing the academic year with uncertainty.
Senator Fiona Nash, the Nationals Senator for NSW and Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate, said this was adding to the stresses facing rural and regional families and the Education Minister, Julia Gillard, must act now.
“The Minister should split the bill so the youth allowance thresholds are increased and start-up scholarships can be paid. The Coalition will agree to those two measures immediately,” Senator Nash said. “This mess is entirely of the Minister’s making and it is up to her to straighten it out.
“Students who finished Year 12 in 2009 and have begun working through their gap year to qualify for independent youth allowance now face the dilemma of having deferred their studies with the very real prospect of having the ground rules changed.
“Government advertisements have warned students that it intends to pursue its legislative changes, removing the pathway that allowed students to earn $19,532 in a gap year to qualify for assistance.
“The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee’s inquiry into Rural and Regional access to Secondary and Tertiary Education Opportunitiesfound the cost of sending a child away to university or a tertiary institution was between $15,000 and $20,000 a year.
“The committee made eight recommendations including creating a Tertiary Access Allowance of $10,000 per student per year for all those who must relocate to study.
“The inequity between students in cities and those in the rest of Australia is serious. The committee has recommended that the allowance be available to students who are required to relocate to attend a tertiary institution. The student would not qualify if there was an equivalent course at a tertiary institution within 90 minutes by public transport.”
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