“The eligibility rules for Independent Youth Allowance will now revert back to the rules that were in place in 2009, and this back-down is a clear admission that the Government got it wrong with their changes.
“The Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations has announced that he will be stepping in to fix the mess created by Julia Gillard when she changed the eligibility criteria for Independent Youth Allowance, resulting in many ‘inner regional’ students missing out vital tertiary education support”, said Member for Wannon, Dan Tehan today.
“I welcome this back-down, as Senator Evans has done what Julia Gillard would not do and listened to the many students from ‘inner regional’ areas that were missing out under the new eligibility rules put in place by Julia Gillard as Education Minister in 2009”, said Mr Tehan.
“Unfortunately, there are probably about 3000 students who have been left in limbo and have missed out on Independent Youth Allowance. Many of these students from the 2009 and 2010 cohort have been unable to pursue a tertiary education and, sadly, are now victims of more Gillard Labor Government bungling.
“The eligibility rules for Independent Youth Allowance will now revert back to the rules that were in place in 2009, and this back-down is a clear admission that the Government got it wrong with their changes.
“Families and community groups in Wannon have been fighting for a fairer Youth Allowance since 2009 and I welcome today’s announcement, however I would like to echo the sentiments made today by Toni Jenkins of the South West Local Learning and Employment Network (SWELLEN), who noted that there is still much more that needs to be done to address the widening gap between city and country students accessing a tertiary education.
“Encouraging more of our country students into tertiary education is one of my priorities for Wannon, and I feel that the whole system of income support for regional and rural students needs comprehensive reviewing. It is disappointing that we have wasted two years debating these changes.
“The changes in 2009 were made to save money and inner regional students bore the brunt of this cost cutting measure. Given that the evidence is clear that country students are disadvantaged when it comes to gaining tertiary education, we should be doing all that we can to put in place policies that actively encourage more country students into tertiary education.”
-ENDS-
Media Contact: Rachelle Miller 02 6277 4393 or 0408 564 232
Copyright © 2010 : Authorised by Dan Tehan, 190 Gray St, Hamilton VIC 3300
Disclaimer | Privacy | Contact
Design by Tin Shed Creations
