Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

This is without doubt one of the saddest days I have seen in this place since I came here. We have just witnessed the Labor Party, the Greens and the Independent Nick Xenophon refuse to debate the bill that would have given fairness and equity to regional students, and I think everybody living in a regional area across this country right now would be unbelievably disappointed, shattered and completely at a loss as to what this government is doing when it comes to regional Australia. What on earth did we just see? We had nothing except an hour set aside to debate this bill, utilising time that was already allocated for the coalition. All of the rubbish that Senator Bob Brown went on with about queue jumping so that he would not be able to debate whaling was complete rubbish. We were not queue jumping one little bit. We were using our own time for debate in this place, which would have been entirely appropriate. I also have to say, colleagues, that for Sarah Hanson-Young to sit here and refuse to debate a bill that is going to provide fairness and equity for regional students is nothing short of appalling. As for the Independent Nick Xenophon from South Australia, I would say to all of those people in Mount Gambier and everywhere else across South Australia who are listening and who have contacted me, saying, ‘I want changes made because this is not fair,’—you let him know in no uncertain terms what you think about what he just did. Not only did he not support those people who wanted changes; he would not even let it be debated. And that is on his own head, and on those of Sarah Hanson-Young and the rest of the Greens.

What are we doing in this place if we are not going to provide fairness and equity for young people across the country? The fact that the government did not support it does not surprise me at all, because they simply do not understand regional Australia. They have not got a clue. The bill and the motion that were before this Senate, while it might have been my private senators’ bill, reflected coalition policy and we were absolutely as one on the importance of this to rural and regional students. I acknowledge the member for Sturt, Christopher Pyne; Senator Brett Mason; the member for Forrest, Nola Marino; the member for Gippsland, Darren Chester; and every single one of my other colleagues, including my good colleague here Senator Julian McGauran and every single other one of my other colleagues who have fought for these changes to come about for regional students. My good colleague sitting in front, Senator Barnaby Joyce, put it brilliantly with his words earlier. What we are about is trying to get fairness and equity for regional students, and what this government have done is divided regional Australia into four zones. They have divided it into inner regional, regional, remote and very remote. For those last three groups, students living in those areas can use a gap year. They can take 12 months and earn the under $19½ thousand to qualify for the independent youth allowance which they so desperately need.

What did this government do? It said, ‘All of you thousands of students living in inner regional areas: you can’t do that. You can’t use that gap year. You can’t get that financial assistance you so desperately need to go on to university or to further tertiary education.’ Why not, government? The answer in Senate estimates was that they simply do not want to spend the money. That is not good enough. For all of those thousands of regional students out there who simply have no choice whatsoever but to relocate, to leave home, to attend university, that is just simply appalling. To leave them completely out in the cold, to not support them, when what we should be doing—