I would like to start my first Canberra Calling article by stating that it is an absolute honour to have been elected as the 14th Member for Wannon and how much I appreciate the opportunity to keep the Pyrenees community updated on the issues that I am standing up for in the Federal Parliament.
Wannon is a fabulous electorate spanning some 33,000 square kilometres. It has a blend of regional and rural areas, inspiring natural attractions and a mix of diverse industries, including agriculture, small business, tourism, mining and energy. Most importantly Wannon is home to wonderful people with outstanding community spirit.
The election result of a hung Parliament has firmly put the spotlight on rural and regional Australia which I welcome. It is my strong belief that the rural independents made a huge mistake in supporting Labor especially given that Labor had entered into a secret deal with the Greens beforehand. That deal is likely to see the introduction of a carbon tax, spending on urban public transport at the expense of road funding in rural areas and down the track death duties. All of which will be bad for our local communities in Wannon.
One of the first issues that the Coalition has raised in Parliament, which is vital to country students, is the unfair Independent Youth Allowance criteria.
Under changes introduced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard when she was Education Minister, some students in towns such as Avoca, Beaufort, Skipton and Snake Valley are now unable to receive the support payment.
We have now moved to have the criteria changed so that students in these areas classified as “Inner Regional” can again qualify for the payment.
I spoke with the Shadow Minister for Education, Mr Christopher Pyne the day after the Government was decided about the Coalition putting forward a Notice of Motion on this issue and I applaud him for moving so quickly.
The motion put forward by the Coalition requires that the Government “introduce legislation to reinstate the former workplace participation criteria for independent Youth Allowance to apply to students whose family home is located in inner regional areas…”.
This motion should be supported by the two key independents, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott, whose rural and regional electorates have also been disadvantaged by Julia Gillard’s changes.
The independents backed Julia Gillard even though her Government’s policies are hurting rural and regional Australia. I would hope that they do the right thing by rural and regional Australia on this issue.
This is the first step in the Coalition’s plan to push for a review into funding for rural and regional tertiary students
and to help overcome the disadvantage they face, when compared with city students, in gaining tertiary qualifications.
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