Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will not delay the House long on this matter. I simply make the point that the government, having fought, including students in inner regional areas, gaining access to the independent youth allowance for about 2½ years and having voted against it many times in this place with the support of some of the crossbenchers and in spite of some of the motions and amendments moved by the opposition, have backflipped on their previous opposition to including students in inner regional areas in the criteria for the independent youth allowance. I note that in order to do so they have dudded postgraduate students, ruining some students' lives while assisting others. But, because the opposition supports this bill and recognises that it is a complete backflip by the minister and the government to a bad decision that was made by the current Prime Minister some years ago, I will not delay the House any longer.

Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again it gives me great pleasure to speak in favour of another education reform of this Labor government. It has been my great fortune to be elected to this chamber at such an exciting time for education. It is an exciting time for teachers, for lecturers, for parents and, most importantly, for students. As many in this place know by now, I have a very deep commitment to education—specifically, enhancing access to education for every Australian. I have made a point to take every opportunity to talk about the benefits of education, not just on productivity and the economy as a whole, but also on the individual.

Education leads to a better and more prosperous life and a better quality of life. I know my colleague the member for Fraser, who is here today, calls education a 'poverty vaccine', and I agree. Education is indeed the silver bullet to cure all manner of social problems. Better education leads to a longer, healthier and happier life. It leads to better opportunities. Most importantly, it leads to a life of empowerment—a life where the individual can choose for themselves and not have that choice made by others because of their background, relative wealth or careers of their parents.

In this I speak from experience. I am the daughter of three generations of women who were hardworking, industrious and intelligent—three generations of women who were more than capable, I believe, of taking on any task and any job. However, because of their background, their gender and their class, they had their futures forced upon them. They had no choice about the future that they had to endure. This cycle was something my mother was keen to end. She was determined that my sisters and I would be educated to get the life and future that we chose, not one that would be forced upon us because of our background. In doing this my mother had plenty of help. My sisters and I are the great beneficiaries of the dramatic education reforms of the Whitlam governments and Richard Dawkins. They introduced reforms that led to the largest expansion of the higher education sector in this country's history—reforms that quite literally changed the face of education, leading not just to more students but to different kinds of students.

Thanks to these visionary leaders and to the commitment of the Labor Party to education and education reform, the upfront costs of university education are no longer a block to going through tertiary education. A student today, thanks to Labor, no longer pays upfront tuition fees and receives a subsidy on their education. It is a system envied by the world for its responsibility in terms of both budget impact and its ability to deliver education and social outcomes.

The major barrier to higher education today is not the cost of tuition fees but is, in fact, how a student can afford to live while studying. Basic items such as accommodation, food, heating and textbooks are all a source of serious financial stress for too many students. They are today a greater barrier to access to higher education than HECS fees. The National Union of Students estimates that as many as one in eight tertiary students miss a meal each week due to financial constraints and as many as half report that financial stress has impacted negatively on their studies.

Today's students are working longer hours to try to make ends meet instead of focusing on their studies and getting an education. One study conducted by NATSEM and the University of Canberra found that, while some level of employment was beneficial for a student's education outcomes, any more than 14 hours per week had a detrimental impact. I shudder to think just how many students drop out of university because they cannot simultaneously pay their bills and study. I shudder to think how many students, having completed school and made the decision and commitment to try to get a degree, have been forced to leave because they cannot afford to pay the rent. These are facts that do not sit well with me and certainly do not sit well with this government. That is why since being elected we have embarked on much-needed and overdue reforms to the higher education sector and to student income support—reforms that every university, student body and community organisation in the country called upon the Howard government to implement for 11 years.

The claims from those opposite that this government is neglecting students, especially rural and regional students, are completely spurious. Their commitment to student welfare is nothing more than an opportunistic policy devoid of any substance. We know already that more students are going to university under this Labor government than ever before. We know that an additional 100,000 students are attending university this year, with an increase of 22 per cent since we came to government in 2007. We know that more regional students than ever before are going to university, with a 10 per cent increase in regional students in 2010 over the previous year. And there are many more encouraging figures about the success of this government's policy in higher education. So I am not going listen to those opposite who say this policy is a failure. Unlike those opposite, who sat and did nothing on this issue for over a decade, we on this side always ask: can we do more? Can we do more to overcome barriers to education and to participation? Can we do more to overcome entrenched disadvantage? For this reason the government commissioned a review by Professor Kwong Lee Dow, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, to examine the impact of student income support. Professor Kwong conducted 20 round tables, including 14 in regional areas. His review received over 250 submissions from the sector, from community organisations and from parents and students.

The legislation before us today reflects the government's response to this review. This bill will further amend the Social Security Act to extend to inner regional students the special workforce participation and independence test arrangements that currently exist for outer regional, remote and very remote students. It will also change the value and distribution of the relocation scholarship, change the value of the student start-up scholarship and cease the Rural Tertiary Hardship Fund. This package acknowledges the pressures and costs faced by students who come from regional areas. This reform will mean that a further 15,300 students will receive an additional $1,783 over four years, compared with current arrangements. It will also mean that a further 5,500 students will receive assistance as independent persons under these arrangements each year.

This legislation is yet another step in this government's plan to improve education outcomes, to improve education opportunities and to ensure all Australians can make the life choices they want. This legislation is yet another example of Labor's strong commitment to universal and quality education. I am proud to be part of a government that will never stop examining what more it can do to help Australian families get their kids the education they deserve. I commend it to the House.

Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on this very important piece of legislation for families, the Social Security Amendment (Student Income Support Reforms) Bill 2011. The legislation affects families in my electorate of Bass and right across Australia. It is legislation that will make it easier for hundreds of students in my electorate to attend university, and this is very welcome news. As families who have students studying at university know, study can be a financial struggle. Course fees, text books, students often having to move away from home, paying for transport and day-to-day living all adds up. We know that students need assistance while studying and the government undertook a review into youth allowance earlier this year. The chair of the review, Professor Kwong Lee Dow, conducted discussions in both metropolitan and rural and regional areas, in each state and territory. Earlier this year students at the Launceston campus of the University of Tasmania invited me to speak to them about the youth allowance. They certainly welcomed the review and spoke about their need for support. The report was tabled on Wednesday, 14 September 2011 and I am most pleased that the Gillard Labor government is taking action. We are acting on the advice and eliminating the distinction between inner regional students and students from outer regional, remote and very remote areas.

The government will also increase the value of the relocation scholarships for eligible students from regional areas to recognise that students from regional areas also experience higher costs in relocating for study. From 1 January next year, eligible regional students will receive a relocation scholarship of $4, 000 for the first year of study, $2,000 for each of the second and third years, and $1,000 for subsequent years. The government's response partially adopts the recommendations of the review and builds on them to provide additional support for students from regional Australia who need to relocate to study.

The bill will amend the Social Security Act 1991 to implement policy announcements by the government on 14 September 2011, following consideration of the recommendations of the Review of Student Income Support Reforms by: extending to inner regional students the special workforce participation independence arrangements for outer regional, remote and very remote students; changing the value and distribution of the relocation scholarship; and ceasing the Rural Tertiary Hardship Fund. The bill will also correct drafting oversights in: Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Other Legislation Amendment (Election Commitments and other Measures) Act (No.1) 2011 and the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Income Support for Students) Act 2010.

Over 15,300 higher education students from regional and remote areas each year will receive the higher rate of relocation scholarship as a result of this proposal. Resetting the relocation scholarship values for eligible students from regional areas means that dependent higher-education students from regional and remote Australia will receive additional assistance of $1,783 over a four-year degree, compared to current arrangements, not taking into account of indexation. This will be of great assistance to students and their families. Approximately 5,500 inner regional students will receive assistance as an independent person under the arrangements each year, following the extension of the special arrangements for independence through workforce participation to students from inner regional Australia. From 1 January 2012 the government will extend to students from inner regional Australia the workforce participation independence arrangements for youth allowance and Abstudy that currently apply only to students from outer regional Australia, remote Australia and very remote Australia, subject to the passage of legislation.

The extended arrangements will allow higher education and VET students from inner regional Australia to be considered independent for youth allowance and Abstudy if they are a full-time student and they are required to live away from home to study and they have combined parental income of less than $150,000 and they have either worked part-time—at least 15 hours each week—for two years since last leaving secondary school or had cumulative earnings totalling at least 75 per cent of the appropriate maximum national training wage award rate of $21,000 in 2011 over 18 months since last leaving secondary school. In addition, inner regional young people will continue to be able to qualify as independents for youth allowance or Abstudy under the existing full-time work criterion—that is, if they have had full-time employment of at least an average of 30 hours per week for 18 months over a two-year period. Inner regional students who left school 18 or more months ago may qualify under the new independence arrangements when they start from 1 January 2012. Employment undertaken over the period since leaving school will be taken into account, even if that work was done prior to 1 January 2012. This year, total support for the youth allowance for higher education will exceed $1.2 billion—an increase of more than 50 per cent on the $800 million outlay in the last year of the former coalition government. We are proud that more students than ever are now going to university. This is vital for our nation. We are proud that more students are receiving the support they need to attend to university. We are very proud that support is being targeted to those students who most need it. We recognise that the youth allowance provides really valuable assistance for students who are trying to get through uni. It is a vital investment for our government to make for Australia.

We need more students from regional areas to get to university, and getting access to the youth allowance really helps. When I attended the University of Tasmania forum on the youth allowance earlier this year, I heard from students that change was needed and how important the youth allowance is to ensure students can remain studying. So we have delivered on our promise to ensure that all regional students are treated equally for the purpose of the youth allowance. We have decided to make it easier for regional students to access independent youth allowance. Now all students from regional areas will have additional avenues to demonstrate independence and qualify for the independent youth allowance. We have also recognised that students from regional areas experience higher costs in relocating for the purpose of study.

Greater effort on education and skills development is one of the best ways to increase productivity over the long term. That is what our education revolution is about. Early childhood education, kindergartens, schools, TAFEs and universities have all had major funding increases since 2007, matched by major regulatory reforms to improve their quality and flexibility. Taken as a whole, these funding increases and regulatory changes comprise the most important economic and social reforms of recent decades.

In higher education our goal is to increase the proportion of young Australians with university qualifications to 40 per cent by 2025. We, the Gillard Labor government, are working hard to support young people while they are at university. I implore those opposite to support this bill. Labor believe in ensuring that the opportunity of high-quality university education is available to all Australians, regardless of their background or where they live. That is why, in April last year, we implemented landmark reforms to youth allowance payments to give more students the opportunity to go to university by targeting financial assistance to those with the greatest need. Just 18 months on, we can already see that these reforms, the Gillard Labor government's reforms, have succeeded in significantly improving financial assistance to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those from rural and regional areas.

In just 18 months, the number of dependent students from disadvantaged backgrounds receiving the maximum youth allowance payment has increased by 108 per cent, the number of rural and regional university students receiving youth allowance has increased by 22 per cent and there has been a 15 per cent increase in the total number of university students receiving youth allowance. A recent Skills Australia report forecast that by 2025 one-third of all jobs will require a minimum of a bachelor's degree qualification. We need to prepare for this now. The Gillard Labor government aims to ensure that everyone who is eligible can access a place at Australian universities and go on to be part of the high-skilled Australian workforce.

During the 2010 election the Liberals had a plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding designed to attract low-income students to attend universities. During the coalition's time in office, participation of young people from regional areas actually declined. Regional participation rates fell from 18.715 to 18.08 per cent from 2002 to 2007. I offer my support to this legislation and encourage those opposite to do the same.

Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is always a pleasure to speak on financial support for our rural and regional students; indeed, for any students, for that matter. The legislation before us, the Social Security Amendment (Student Income Support Reforms) Bill 2011, is the result of a review which we made clear would occur when we introduced our previous youth allowance and student support reforms. The review was led by Professor Kwong Lee Dow. What we have before us today brings about changes to the former legislation, which was agreed to by both sides of this House, contrary to what you may hear from those opposite.

I noticed that the opposition spokesperson for education was very brief in discussing these changes, not so much to help the changes come through but loath to give any time to giving positive support to what has been a massive change in the provision of youth allowance and financial support to families in Australia. Most importantly, the changes, both previously and now, have led to a massive increase in the number of students and families that have been able to benefit from this financial support. That is a great story, a great message, a good narrative—and we have got it to tell. Of course, I would not expect the opposition spokesperson to share that good story, hence their very brief contribution to the debate on this legislation.

As a result of the changes I mentioned in response to the review, some 5,500 inner regional students will be able either to access independent youth allowance payments or, indeed, to receive a higher rate of payment. From 1 January 2012, to be eligible for independent youth allowance under the workforce participation criteria, regional students—and I come from a regional seat—will need to satisfy one of three elements. These are, to give examples: working full-time for an average of at least 30 hours a week for at least 18 months in a two-year period; or, secondly, working part time for at least 15 hours a week for two years since leaving school, provided that they need to relocate to study and the combined parental income is less than $150,000 per annum; or, thirdly, earning in an 18-month period since leaving school an amount equivalent to 75 per cent of the maximum rate of pay under the appropriate national training wage award, currently $21,009, or the rate as varied or replaced by Fair Work Australia, which you would expect, and provided that they need to relocate to study and the combined parental income is less than $150,000 per annum. Under the current system, inner regional students only qualified for independent youth allowance under the first of those three elements. Our changes today mean students from inner regional areas, such as those in my electorate, will have additional avenues to demonstrate independence and therefore qualify for independent youth allowance. In effect, it expands the options available to inner regional students to access youth allowance. The maximum rate for independent youth allowance is $388.70 a fortnight. Not only are we now including—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the question be now put.

Question put.

The House divided. [13:43]

(The Speaker—Mr Harry Jenkins)

Question negatived.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43.