Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Okay. I will raise that now, and I will be quick. I'm just wondering if the government can explain about its amendments to its bill. Do these amendments extend the coronavirus assistance that's going to be available to students on youth allowance? There are many students on youth allowance who would have been doing a couple of extra shifts to top up their youth allowance. A lot of those shifts have now been cancelled because they're often in the hospitality sector and sometimes in the retail sector. Those people are now going to fall behind. The government's giving some welcome assistance to youth allowance (jobseeker). That's in line with what the Greens have been calling for for some time. I'm wondering if the government can clarify this, especially given that the Prime Minister last night on television, when he was asked whether students are going to be supported, said, 'Yes, students will be supported,' but the bill seems to suggest the opposite. So can the government clarify, before the bill proceeds through here: are students receiving youth allowance going to get the extra coronavirus payment and, if not, why not, given that they may be losing significant amounts of money and may be hurting at the moment and they've still got rent and bills to pay as well?

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