Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) | Hansard source

I rise to support the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Extend Family Assistance to ABSTUDY Secondary School Boarding Students Aged 16 and Over) Bill 2019. Education is critical to improving quality-of-life outcomes. Our social security system has an important role to play in providing the relevant supports necessary to ensure that all children have the opportunity to access education. There is evidence that the current rules, which withdraw family tax benefit when children at boarding schools turn 16, put enormous financial pressure on some families. This has resulted in unfavourable and unintended outcomes. Some students and families are forced into withdrawing students from school to maintain access to the family tax benefit to make ends meet. This is an untenable situation and it must be changed. As parents know, children do not get cheaper as they get older. There are significant costs associated with children in boarding school: uniforms, shoes, clothes, excursions, pocket money, haircuts, sporting equipment—the list goes on. These costs don't just stop because the child is at boarding school or because they turn 16.

Abstudy is important. It's helped many school, TAFE and university students to study and thrive. The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into this bill indicated widespread support for these changes, but it also exposed some issues with the administration of Abstudy. These included the lack of secondary school options in local communities or closer to community; the complexity of the Abstudy system—there are seven Abstudy award types, eligibility triggers, and 12 separate payments; and administrative delays in commencing Abstudy payments for children without immunisation or birth records. There is a lack of accessible communication with families in remote areas about the accessibility of Abstudy and how it works. There is the inadequacy of payments; for some schools, the payment is not adequate to cover boarding costs.

The 2019 Closing the gap report found that the school attendance target was not on track. The target was to close the gap in school attendances by 2018. As a nation, we have missed this target and there has been no improvement between 2014 and 2018. This gap is unacceptable. This progress is unacceptable. The overall attendance rate for Indigenous students is 82 per cent, compared to 93 per cent for non-Indigenous students. The gap in school attendance is evident from when the children start school. During primary school the attendance gap was around eight percentage points in 2018. Attendance falls when students reach secondary school, particularly for Indigenous students, and the attendance gap widens to 14 per cent. In remote areas, school attendance by Indigenous students is lower and the attendance gap is larger. In 2018, attendance rates for Indigenous students ranged from 86 per cent in inner regional areas to 63 per cent in very remote areas.

This week we read reports that the government had cut federal funding for 100 remote community school jobs in the Kimberley region in Western Australia's north. The funding allowed remote community residents to provide services such as specialised language teachers, ground maintenance and other support roles. We know that remote schools experience many difficulties presented by geographical isolation as it is, without the added burden of federal funding cuts perpetrated by this government. Last week was Indigenous Literacy Day and this year is the International Year of Indigenous Languages. All Australians should have equal access to literacy resources, especially those children living in remote communities.

First Nations Australians should have the opportunity to learn language and culture. Language and culture are integral to improving Indigenous literacy outcomes. The strengthening of identity and connection to culture is imperative to improving Indigenous quality-of-life outcomes, and it's very disappointing that this government has ended federal funding for, among other things, the specialised language services.

It's also worth mentioning that these remote school jobs were funded through the government's Indigenous Advancement Strategy, which has come under immense scrutiny from the Auditor-General, who raised serious questions about the administration of the strategy and its funding decisions, which have seen $4.8 billion spent over the last five years.

Labor is calling on the government to do more, because going away to boarding school is not the right option for many children. We need to invest in more options at home and closer to home. No-one should miss out on a great education because of where they live. While it suits some students and their families, boarding does not work for others. It takes young people away from the family, community, culture and language, and in many instances it exposes them to discrimination and bullying, as we heard in the Senate inquiry into this bill. We need more public and community schooling options that are close to home and culturally appropriate for Indigenous students from remote areas, and we need to make sure that, when students go to boarding school, it is a positive experience and all boarding schools attended by students from remote communities have the cultural understanding to support those students.

Going away to school can be tough for any young person, potentially even more so when you're from a remote community and English is your second or third language. Abstudy has allowed thousands of students from remote communities to get a great education at boarding school and complete year 12. The changes in this bill are a step in the right direction, and Labor supports them. They will enable young Indigenous students from remote communities to reach their potential. Every young Indigenous person should be able to write their own story of success and achievement, like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students before them, no matter where they live or what school they go to.