Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

That is it; they have to go into some form of suspended animation. The reality is that these changes are a retrograde step and discriminate against people from regional and rural areas. This policy totally disregards the plight of students from regional and rural areas, where employment options are limited, work is largely seasonal and it is very difficult to achieve the 30-hour-per-week benchmark. It is a policy that has impacted on students who acted in good faith, who had started their gap year this year and who had their plan in place to better themselves into the future, and they have had those plans dashed. This callous minister, who is out of touch, refuses to consider their plight.

It is interesting to note the comments of the Victorian parliament’s Education and Training Committee, chaired by the Labor member Geoff Howard.

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