Judith Adams (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take notice of answers from Senator Carr, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and Minister representing the Minister for Education. This matter certainly has raised a number of issues and concerns today. I would like to inform those opposite that the youth allowance petition on the website of the member for O’Connor, the Hon. Wilson Tuckey, has reached 9,500 petitioners. This has blown the whole thing out of the water and, as my colleagues on this side have said today, this is one of the biggest issues for students living in rural and remote areas who wish to go to university. The Isolated Children’s Parents Association came to visit me the other day and their biggest concern was about how the changes to the youth allowance and the gap year are affecting their members.

As people who have lived and worked in rural and regional Australia, my husband and I put our two sons through university. At that stage, of course, there was nothing like a youth allowance to give us some assistance. I myself worked on the farm instead of working at the local hospital to put my sons through university, so I fully know how hard it is for people living in rural and remote Australia to educate their children, and there is nothing better for us to do than to give our children a good education so that they can then move on in the world. Without an education these days, it is very difficult.

As far as the petition is concerned, an enormous number of people have either rung or emailed my office, and I know that the member for Forrest, Ms Nola Marino MP, has certainly been inundated, as has the member for O’Connor. We live in very rural areas and really understand the way people have to work. With respect to the gap year, as my colleagues have said, students have their gap year so that they can be out there working to acquire the money they need so that they can be considered independent, because they have to move away from their homes to go to the cities to study. They have been put in a dreadful situation. I really did try to get the minister to say that the government would perhaps look at the situation, but obviously that is not to be. The minister made a comment about people being very rich. Because of the noise I could not hear exactly what he had to say, but I am amazed that he was so confused about the issue. I sat in Senate estimates and listened to Senator Carr talking about the $2.28 million, and he asked, ‘Is this too low as an assets threshold?’ The next thing he said was:

I just want to be clear about this. Are you trying to suggest that a family income—

He was then brought back by Senator Back, who said:

Chairman, with respect, it is not $2.268 million of annual income.

It is assets. I would just like to put this on the record. A farm—with the plant and machinery needed to put a crop in, if you are a cropping farmer—is usually worth over $1 million. Then there is the land and the stock that go with it. To people who live in the city, $2.28 million as an assets threshold might seem very, very generous. But I can assure you that for most farmers it is not. When you take the plant and equipment and land into account, they are asset rich on paper, maybe, but they certainly are cash poor. Students living in rural areas will have to try to acquire work at 30 hours a week when, most of the time now, they can work during seeding and harvest and earn the money they need. But from January next year, students will have to work 30 hours per week for 18 months in a two-year period after leaving school so that they can get the independent rate. As Senator Nash has said, as far as deferring a university place goes, universities will not defer for two years. (Time expired)