Tony Crook (O'Connor, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The results of the federal government's recent review into youth allowance are a disappointment to say the least. The youth allowance review has offered no positive changes for students and families living in the electorate of O'Connor. In fact, the youth allowance review has offered nothing positive to any students who live outside of inner regional areas. While I acknowledge that students living in inner regional areas will now be able to qualify for youth allowance under fairer criteria, I believe that the federal government has missed a real opportunity to overhaul the youth allowance system and offer a better deal for regional students. By missing this opportunity, the federal government has let our regional communities down.

I point out to the House that in February this year I welcomed the announcement of the youth allowance review. In fact, I played a key role in negotiating with the government to bring this review forward with a view to assisting regional students who struggled to access youth allowance. I could not have been more disappointed when I saw the final copy of the review when it was tabled in the House last week. The review did not address any of the concerns that had been raised by the families of O'Connor. Regional families need to be afforded support to ensure that their children have the best possible chance to access higher education. Regional families should not be forced to fit a square peg into a round hole when seeking financial assistance for their children's futures. To put the issue of youth allowance for regional students into perspective, I highlight some statistics to the House.

According to the Australian Council for Educational Research, in the seven years since leaving secondary school, close to half of all metropolitan students gain a university or TAFE degree, while only a third of rural students gain a qualification in that time. Figures provided by Regional Development Australia on the Great Southern show that the number of students deferring tertiary studies is well above the state average. Seventy-three per cent of students in the Great Southern defer entering university by 12 months or more, compared to the overall state average of only 23 per cent. I point out that many of these students do not defer by choice; rather, they defer because they have no choice.

In order to access youth allowance, students are forced to take a mandatory gap year for 12 months, and they must wait at least 18 months after completing high school before they can even apply for youth allowance. There are very few courses that commence in the middle of the year, and this essentially leaves students with the option of deferring university for two years or beginning university early without access to financial assistance. I also point out that the option to defer for two years is rarely accepted, and many students wishing to accept this option must forego the tertiary entrance rank they obtained on completion of high school and apply to university as a mature entrant. These inflexible requirements serve as nothing more than a deterrent to regional students who wish to access higher education.

I point out to the House some of the barriers that regional students face when relocating to the metropolitan area to further their studies. On this subject, Professor Kwong Lee Dow, the chair of the youth allowance review committee, said:

… rural students are handicapped, relative to their metropolitan counterparts, by more limited schooling opportunities, smaller cohorts of peers with whom to collaborate and to compete and less specialist teaching in the critical final years of secondary education. They must find accommodation, develop the resilience to manage their own living needs away from home, cope with potential isolation from their peers from school, and adapt to sitting in classes alongside better prepared students from larger friendship groups who return to home comforts each day.

These comments by Professor Dow highlight the struggles of regional students across my electorate of O'Connor. It is unfortunate that the youth allowance review does not address a single one of these issues in its recommendations to the government. As it currently stands, the youth allowance system does not create a fair and equitable situation for regional Australians, and this will have long-term impacts on regional communities in coming years. Many regional families will be very disappointed by this review.

House adjourned at 20 : 00