Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

We have the tail end of this appalling scare campaign directed against people, who, quite frankly, deserve better from the Australian Labor Party. What I make absolutely clear in response to this question—and Senator Farrell knows it, but he will not admit it—is that the two schemes, the VCES and the MRCAETS, are not being changed at all. Nothing has been removed from them. There are no changes at all.

This is a grubby little scare campaign from the Australian Labor Party, run by their leader in the other place. He should be ashamed of himself. You know full well that none of this has been changed at all. I will just go through, in the 24 seconds left open to me, what these young men and women can get, because you clearly do not understand it. Under these schemes, eligible secondary students, aged between 16 and 25, who are still living at home receive fortnightly non-means-tested payments of between $230.70 and $277 per fortnight. Those living independently receive up to $421.40. (Time expired)