Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am appalled but not surprised at the complete lack of regard the government has shown for regional and rural young people in its city-centric, budget-saving youth allowance changes. The government plans to change the criteria for the independent rate, forcing young people under the age of 25 from next year to work 30 hours per week consistently for 18 months over a two-year period in order to be eligible. This is a completely unrealistic expectation to place on young people from communities where employment, transport and extensive tertiary opportunities simply do not exist. With an unemployment rate of 9.6 per cent in the Shoalhaven alone, work for unskilled young people is extremely hard to come by, let alone a consistent 30 hours a week. Transport is also nonexistent, with the train line actually stopping at Bomaderry. Study options locally are few. I fear that as a result young people will be forced to move in the search for more options or to meet the unreasonable demands put on them by this government.

It is pleasing to see that, while the government has finally listened to the coalition’s cries and the correspondence from countless young people everywhere in delaying the introduction of the changes to independent youth allowance criteria, I am concerned that they are continuing to give with one hand and take with the other. The government has agreed to delay the changes for those currently undertaking their gap year until June next year, but only if they can trade off positive changes like increasing the income threshold for youth allowance recipients, where young people can earn more without their entitlements being affected.

The rise from $236 to $400 per fortnight, announced in the budget, will not come into effect now until June 2011, which is 18 months later than planned to allow for additional cost. This is all because the Rudd government is trying to make $1.8 billion in budget savings from the pockets of young people to pay for its reckless spending. I cannot understand why the government is comfortable going into $315 billion worth of debt to hand out money to everyone, including dead people, people in jail and Australians living overseas, but they cannot assist young people trying to make a go of things.

The third issue I see here that needs to be addressed relates to the time frame of the 30-hour working week. The proposed legislation states that the work must be undertaken for at least 18 months and makes no provisions for students to complete the hours or earn a certain amount sooner so they can still have a chance of starting uni in the 15 months after they leave school. Stating that they must do their time for 18 months regardless will prevent many young people from being able to go to uni as they can defer their enrolment offer for only one year and they could miss out if forced to reapply. If this government is serious about making access to uni easier for disadvantaged young people, it must seriously consider the inflexibility of its own legislation and listen to the countless young people who are raising their concerns right now very loudly.

I have held two youth allowance information sessions in my electorate in the past two months to inform young people of how these proposed changes will affect them, and have had an overwhelming response. The young people I have spoken to are very concerned that these changes will primarily benefit metropolitan youth and make life harder for them. The wellbeing officer at one of our local high schools said that these changes would have an adverse effect on her students, and that many would be forced to move and find work in order to be eligible for the full independent rate and able to support themselves at university.

While I acknowledge that there are some positive changes being put forward—like the increase in parental income threshold and the reduction in age of independence, although this will be happening in stages over three years—the fact is that the changes will leave many young people in my electorate of Gilmore worse off. In short, while I welcome the backflip the government has made in relation to the retrospective nature of these laws, ensuring that they do not disadvantage anyone currently working towards their gap year, it does not go far enough. More assistance needs to be provided for regional and rural young people in the form of special provisions or scholarships, as the coalition will propose, and the timing of the 18-month working criterion needs to be made more flexible to stop young people losing their university places.

These changes are critical for the 15,000 15- to 24-year-olds in Gilmore who are our future, and I will not rest until they get the support they need. It should also be noted that, when I specifically asked the Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, a question about this issue during question time, she totally ignored the issue of the 30-hour working week and the lack of work opportunities in regional areas. I once again call on her to ensure that the students of Gilmore will not be disadvantaged and to reconsider the eligibility criteria for independent youth allowance for young people in rural or regional areas.