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

Thank you, Senator Williams, I will take that interjection—it is disgraceful. There is a huge inequity for regional students when it comes to accessing tertiary education, and that is because of the cost of relocation and the difficulties of having to move away from home to access tertiary education. One of the ways they do so is by accessing some support through the independent youth allowance.

Senator Sterle interjecting—

As you well know, Senator Sterle, and I know you understand, many of those students choose the path of working for a year, proving themselves independent of their parents to gain the assistance under the criterion. Yet the government has said, 'I'm sorry, young Australian that is trying to apply for independent youth allowance—'particularly young regional Australian—'if your parents earn $150,000 combined before tax you can't apply. You are ineligible.' That is simply stupid. We are talking potentially about two parents, one who might be a schoolteacher and one who might be a police officer. The government are telling that family that that student cannot apply for independent youth allowance, cannot go and work their tail off for a year, cannot prove their independence from their parents because 'we're still going whack that cap on there'.

Normally we on this side are demanding things; normally we on this side are stamping our feet and being angry. I am pleading with the minister to listen to all of those regional families that this is affecting and to please, please provide some equity for those regional students, who so often choose not to go to university because of the difficulties in place, because of barriers like the $150,000 parental income cap. That is just wrong. If this government were to change one thing to help regional students, that would be it. Mind you, there is a whole range of things but that is absolutely one of the priorities.

The list goes on and on. Unfortunately, time precludes me from exhausting the very long list of things that does prove that there is an abject failure by this Labor government to properly support Australia's agriculture, fishery and forestry industries. Our farmers are the backbone of this nation. They are not only now but into the future the absolute driving force, the engine room, of this nation. It is about time that this Labor government recognised that. It is about time that this Labor government stopped being so disconnected from regional communities and so disconnected from regional families and finally started listening to what is really needed out in regional Australia. This is not on. It is unacceptable. It is an abject failure by this government and people in rural and regional communities know that.