Sharryn Jackson (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on the latest developments in relation to student income support and the impact of these on students?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for her question. Can I take this opportunity to congratulate her for the work she has done leading a parliamentary committee looking at fair pay and fair treatment of women workers. It has been a very important contribution to that debate and policy development.

I am asked by the member for Hasluck about developments in the Youth Allowance debate. There have been three since question time yesterday. First, the government negotiated with the Greens party and with Senator Xenophon on measures that they sought to improve transition arrangements in Youth Allowance—that is, improved arrangements for students who are currently on a gap year. The government has reached agreement with the Greens party and with Senator Xenophon on those improvements, which are budget neutral. I thank the Greens party and Senator Xenophon for the maturity and skill that they have brought to this debate, and I suspect many Australian students will be thanking them as well.

The second development is that the Senate rejected the coalition’s amendments. Those amendments were always unacceptable because they blew a more than $1 billion hole in the budget. At the same time, they entrenched a system which had been shown to lead to a result where the participation rates of country kids in universities went backwards. That is, it was fiscally irresponsible and grossly unfair, and the Senate has rejected those amendments.

Then, at number 3, in the most churlish and destructive act seen in this parliament in many a long year, despite the Senate repudiation of their amendments, the coalition voted to stop the beneficial amendments that we had agreed with the Greens and Senator Xenophon. They voted to stop a change to make the system easier in transition for students and then engaged in a Senate procedure which effectively blocks the bill.

What have the coalition done through this destructive, churlish act? I can tell you, Mr Speaker, what they have done. They have set this parliament on a course where the newly negotiated improved transition arrangements for students have been blocked. They have set this parliament on a course where 150,000 students will miss out on scholarships next year. They have set this parliament on a course where country kids needing to move will not get $4,000 relocation scholarships next year. They have set this parliament on a course where next year a kid in a family earning $44,165 will not get full youth allowance. How mean, how petty, can you be? They have set this parliament on a course where we will not be able to bring the age of independence for getting youth allowance down to 22 years old.

Those who care about education in this country have reacted with absolute fury to this churlish, petulant, destructive act by the coalition. The sector is incredulous that the coalition could be as anti-student as this. In the words of the Australian Technology Network of Universities:

Failure by the Coalition and Family First Senator, Steve Fielding to support this amended legislation is not only bad for the education system in Australia, but it’s bad social policy and is very bad long term economic policy.

…            …            …

The amended Bill would have delivered a level of financial security for those students most in need.

…            …            …

These scholarships help very poor students give more time and attention to their studies by reducing stress and worry, reducing their paid work hours, and increasing their sense of belonging. As a result, these students have attrition rates about 40% lower than other students—the benefit of this scholarship is tangible.

These scholarships have been ripped out of the hands of Australian students by the churlish, petulant actions of the Liberal Party. Students have spoken and they have said this:

Last night we thought so many good elements were blocked.

A drop in the age of independence to 22, blocked; new personal income test thresholds, blocked; new scholarships, blocked; a system that gets the poorer students to university, blocked. As students have said:

… what remains is … an inequitable relic of the Howard era.

It is easily rorted by the privileged. It means 30 per cent of gap year students will not return to university. The current system disadvantages poor and regional students the most. The fury in the education sector today because of this petulance and destruction by the coalition is clear.

Despite this destructive act, we are going to give the coalition—the Liberal and National parties—an opportunity to stop this conduct and stop their war against students. Later today, I will reintroduce the bill as amended with the new beneficial provisions agreed by the Greens party and Senator Xenophon. This is now finally decision day for the coalition. There are hundreds of thousands of students who are waiting for their money next year. It will be on the coalition’s head, each and every member, if the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of students in their electorates who would get these new scholarships miss out because of their actions in the Senate. I find it remarkable that anybody who claims to represent an electorate or a state in this parliament could set themselves on such a destructive course. It is time that the coalition actually did something for students instead of continuing their war against students, particularly their war against country kids, who, under their blocking of this legislation, will finish last.