Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

Ring 132490 and find out for yourself whether you are entitled to youth allowance.

I had the opportunity on the weekend to head down to the member for Gippsland’s electorate, where I spent the weekend in Sale. The member for Gippsland had been running a campaign and had got himself some front-page media scaring the local community about changes to youth allowance—and then, I might add, was unavailable to front up and attend a forum to actually talk to young Australians about the changes and put the facts to them directly. But I spoke to them and I can tell the House that a lot of those young Australians who were terrified by the member for Gippsland’s campaign will be better off. And it is not just young Australians in Sale; over 100,000 young Australians will be better off as a result of these changes, which make the distribution of youth allowance fairer and the system more transparent.

I know we will continue to debate this and many other issues, but the member for Lyne is quite right: it is crucial to ensure that students in regional Australia have every opportunity for a quality education in this country. That is something that we believe all young Australians—and, indeed, all Australians—should have the opportunity to receive. The government are very proud that we have been investing in education on such a major scale. (Time expired)

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