Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is an absolute pleasure to stand here today because I am pleased to announce that the coalition is providing better support for young Australians. Today the social services minister introduced legislation that will remove tests and restrictions on Youth Allowance that has prevented thousands of young people from accessing payments and kept others from receiving the support they need, especially in helping them to be able to access tertiary education. For rural and regional families, supporting a child in further education is expensive. It often means the child has to moving away to university or to a TAFE to learn a trade. These young Australians cannot just nip home for lunch or do a load of washing. The cost of living is something that they face up front and in full. They have to pay rent, they have to try to find part-time work, they have to be able to try to get home. All of these costs—rent, fuel—add up for these young Australians. Providing youth allowance to these people is incredibly important. If our young students from rural areas are expected to be given the kinds of opportunities provided to those in the city, common sense must be applied to the challenges that face them.

In Warrnambool, in my electorate, we recently held a forum to discuss these challenges. I was joined by Senator Bridget McKenzie and representatives from the department of education and the Department of Social Services in engaging with students, parents and teachers on this issue. The overwhelming view was that there are significant financial barriers to school leavers from rural and regional areas in accessing further education. Rural Industries Skill Training chief executive, Bill Hamill, told the hearing in Warrnambool that living away from home expenses concerned regional parents more than the fees to go to university. Very simply, the costs put on these students is far greater than on their city counterparts.

Today the coalition government has taken the first step in reducing this burden on students by changing the youth allowance payment assessment process. By removing the family assets test, for example, around 4,100 more students will become eligible for youth allowance payments for the first time. This will mean each of these young people will get an extra $7,000 each year on average to help with their cost of living. The government will also change parental income tests in relation to applying for youth allowance. This will mean that 13,700 families will have children become eligible for more in their payments, around 1,100 more each year. This is a great first step by this government, but there is more to do in this area and rural MPs from the coalition will be fighting for this.