Coulton’s Catch-up 19th September - Youth Allowance
19-September-2011
The Government has back-flipped after yet another failed policy. As part of a $265 million package students from inner regional areas will be able to access independent youth allowance under exactly the same rules that apply to students from outer regional, remote and very remote areas from 1 January 2012. My colleagues and I have been calling on the Government to do for well over one year now.
This mess began in early 2010 when the Labor Government altered the eligibility criteria for Independent Youth Allowance, requiring students from areas identified as `Inner Regional’ to work more hours for a longer period before being considered as independent. Under the changes students were forced to work for 30 hours per week for 18 months, forcing them to defer their studies for two full years or work full time whilst studying. The move meant that an estimated 30,000 students were likely to become ineligible for the vital assistance.
The regional zones in which students live are determined by the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC-RA) map. What was farcical about this whole scheme was that there were many cases where an arbitrary line on a map meant one student was eligible yet another in the same town was not. Students may come from the same class in the same school but be discriminated against based on which side of town their homes sit. The map is therefore highly inappropriate and regional students should be treated the same regardless of where they live.
The Independent Youth Allowance is a significant financial lifeline to many families who cannot afford to send their children to university. I had many parents approach me concerned that they would not be able to send more than one of their children to University under the strict criteria the Government implemented. Essentially what the Government’s proposal did was make attending university an unaffordable prospect for many regional students.
What is frustrating with this whole issue is that it should never have happened in the first place and that there were several opportunities for the Government and their supporters, the Greens and Independents, to support the Coalition’s attempt to rectify this gross injustice. The Coalition made several attempts in Parliament to make the system fair again for all students but to no avail.
There is no greater investment that a country and a government can make than the education of the next generation of Australians. We had a double standard where students who lives in a metropolitan area can live at home with mum and dad and attend university. They would probably have a choice of several universities and then we have students that come from regional Australia, from a town like Dubbo or Mudgee would miss out purely because of flawed Government policy.
There is already a gross under-representation of regional students at university; this is highlighted by current figures that show students who live in regional areas have about one third as much chance of gaining a university degree as those who live in the cities. No Government should make it harder for young students to pursue their university aspirations, especially regionally based students. Thankfully this level of uncertainty has been removed and students will now be able to make plans regarding their tertiary education.