Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

As my honourable friend here reminds me, she is also now a social conservative. But the question remains. The leader of the Greens receives regular briefings from the Prime Minister’s office—more than, I suspect, the honourable member opposite who interjected just recently. He, the leader of the Greens, Senator Bob Brown, is dragging the Labor Party along as he pursues his extremist agenda. The reality is that the Labor Party has lost its way. They are no longer representing mainstream Australia. They are no longer the great party of the working class of this country. They are pandering to fringe elements and pursuing fringe issues. There is no better example than their contempt for rural and regional Australia.

What this bill does not do is to help regional students. In her last-minute deal, the Prime Minister did a deal with the Independents to avoid an embarrassment on the floor of this place. And in doing so, Labor and the Independent members of this place have voted to kill off the Independent Youth Allowance Bill. Last year all crossbench members, except the Greens, supported a motion which sought to make the independent youth allowance criteria fair for all regional students. But when it actually came to supporting a bill that would make these changes, the members for Denison, Lyne, Kennedy and New England voted against the coalition’s bill. Indeed, the member for Lyne seconded a motion in support of the bill proceeding and spoke in favour of it, but then, at the last moment, voted against after a meeting with the Prime Minister. The coalition welcomed the support of the member for O’Connor and even the Greens member for Melbourne in supporting a debate on the coalition’s bill.

Labor’s commitment to Independents to bring forward a review of youth allowance, to report by 1 July this year, does not address the problem now—and there is a real problem for many students in regional areas of Australia right now. It is months before we have a review to report on 1 July. In the meantime there are students in many parts of regional Australia who are suffering deprivation, in our view and in the view of them and their parents and many communities around the country, because the government are not prepared to act now—regrettably, with the support of so many Independent members of this House. The coalition’s bill sought to do that: to get action now.

Nor does Labor give any firm commitment to fixing the independent youth allowance issue, although in the current context it is probably better they have said nothing, as we have learned that the Prime Minister cannot keep her promises and just cannot be trusted. The Prime Minister’s promise of a review should be weighed against the many broken deals, bundled programs and hopeless mismanagement of youth allowance over the last few years. This Labor government promised no carbon tax, but now is drafting one; it promised a national takeover of hospitals, but scrapped the idea; it promised a national curriculum to begin in 2011, but it has now been delayed at least until 2013. And the list goes on and on and on.

It is time this government did what was right. Stop breaking promises. Stop taking decisions that hurt Australian families. Admit your position on youth allowance is wrong and support the amendment that I have circulated in my name, which I now move:

That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:“whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House require the government:

(1)

urgently to introduce legislation to reinstate the former workplace participation criteria for independent youth allowance, to apply to students whose family home is located in inner regional areas as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics instrument Australian Standard Geographical Classification; and

(2)

to appropriate funds necessary to meet the additional cost of expanding the criteria for participation.”

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