Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

My comments are similar to those of many other members. I acknowledge the work and persistence of the shadow minister on this issue. I also acknowledge all of the members who sit in this House who have worked so ferociously to represent the concerns of their country students. If it was not for their efforts and the wonderful efforts of our constituents who lobbied constantly, who wrote to us and who begged us to act on their behalf, then we would not have these results. The Minister for Education was not going to do this voluntarily. She was dragged kicking and screaming to this point. It is the efforts of the people in this chamber and all of our constituents who are affected by this that have brought this about. I want to acknowledge my constituents who have worked so hard and have been so concerned about this on an ongoing basis.

We have heard about the map being used—this wonderful map that is entirely inappropriate as a measure for determining student regionality. I can see it in my electorate, as can each member who is here to talk about how this is going to affect their students so badly. I am already getting the emails from young people in my electorate who are going to be left out. The assumption is that it is not going to cost any more for these young people to go to university—and they have no choice but to have to move, to go to Perth, essentially, to pursue their tertiary education. There is no choice. Yet, when I looked at the map I saw a little place like Collie, in my electorate—and Collie is out but somewhere like Cairns is in. I see places like Boyanup and Dardanup and Donnybrook, and we have all these people who are reliant on seasonal work, or no work at all, as the member for Grey is very well aware. There are all these issues facing rural and regional students. Those who come from family farming backgrounds are also going to find this extremely difficult. Where on earth does a young person from Donnybrook, which is left out on this map, unlike Darwin, Dunsborough, Brunswick, Harvey and Capel, find 30 hours of work a week over that 18-month period? These young people live anything from two to 2½ hours away from a university, so they are not going to be able to qualify under the map that the minister has offered.

I, like my colleagues, am disappointed that this seems like a piecemeal, throwaway approach to these students and to the serious nature of how much focus should have been on this issue. There should have been a very diligent approach because the minister has had since May to do this. If the minister genuinely cared about making sure of equal opportunity for rural and regional students—those who genuinely need it—these are not the criteria that should have been used to determine this outcome.

I have received an email from a very concerned parent from Bunbury. Their young daughter was dux of her campus and she has to go to Perth to pursue her education, yet she is going to miss out. They are seriously devastated about this but they know that we have fought hard. They know that we have fought to make sure that that the minister did not impose problems for those on a gap year—that you would even consider excluding those currently doing their gap year is appalling.

Then we saw the 30 hours of work a week applied unilaterally—I am not sure where members on the other side imagine that their young people can find that 30 hours of work a week that is going to be necessary for so many. I can say for a lot of young people in my electorate: it is not possible. Again, we increase the disadvantage for young people in my electorate. I know that my email inbox is going to run hot and I will be continuing to let the minister know exactly about this process. We put that amendment in, but the government voted against it. I cannot believe that the places that I have mentioned in my electorate will be excluded and not considered as regional when those young people cannot go to university unless they go to Perth to attend a university. There is an assumption by this minister about regional areas, and it is incorrect.

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