Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

Rent assistance of $107 per fortnight, or some $2,144 per year, can be paid. A remote area allowance of $18 per fortnight, or some $291 per student per year, can be paid for the first eight weeks of a temporary absence. There is a pharmaceutical allowance of $5.80 per student per fortnight, or $116 per year. There is also an under-16 boarding supplement of $4,206 per student per year, and fares or actual costs can be approved for transport or motor vehicle allowance. There is a whole series of allowances under Abstudy, which students are entitled to. Combined with the funding guarantee in the bill, it strikes me that it is not possible to realistically argue that schools or students are worse off under this legislation. Any fair reading of clause 70 of the bill and any understanding of the way in which education legislation has been written for probably the last 25 years would show that the claims that are being made are incorrect.