Federal Government Guts ABSTUDY: Senate Report
June 24, 2005
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) on Friday welcomed the findings of a Senate Inquiry that income support payments under Youth Allowance, Austudy and ABSTUDY are between 30 to 50 per cent below the poverty line, causing extreme financial hardship for increasing numbers of students and particularly Indigenous students.
“The Senate Inquiry into Student Income Support has confirmed what the NTEU has been saying since 2001, that the changes made to ABSTUDY by this government, have practically ‘gutted’ the scheme,” NTEU Indigenous Officer Joel Wright said.
“The Union’s submission to the Inquiry reported on Indigenous student income support and identified inconsistencies in current policy, such as aligning the ABSTUDY independence age threshold to that of Austudy (25 years), when Australian Bureau of Statistics figure indicate the median age for the Indigenous population is 20.6 years compared to 31.6 years for the rest of Australia”.
The report tabled yesterday states: “the system operates with various disincentives, inconsistencies and anomalies which penalise students who are in most need of financial assistance.”
“Students from households with low to modest incomes, from regional and remote areas and Indigenous students are hardest hit by these systemic failings,” the report said.
The Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and References Committee has tabled fifteen recommendations of which seven have already received unanimous Senate support with the remaining eight recommendations not supported by the Government’s Senators.
“It’s time for the Federal Government to start listening to Indigenous people in the development of policies for Indigenous people,” said Ms Maureen Ah Sam, Chair of the NTEU Indigenous Tertiary Education Policy Committee (ITEPC).
“Data over the previous decade indicates that before the government changes, Indigenous Student Support Programs did provide some level of financial support that did make a difference, but this no longer seems the case.”
“The signal this Government is sending by abolishing, without any replacement, several core programs that support Indigenous participation in education, and that have a direct bearing on employment and income, is that Indigenous people don’t deserve the same opportunities or quality of life as other Australians,” said Ms Ah Sam.
“We believe this Senate report clearly exposes Howard’s practical reconciliation agenda as nothing more than an ongoing exercise by the Federal Government in reconciling expenditure critical to Indigenous education and programs more broadly,” Mr Wright said.
For More Information Contact
ITEPC Chair Ms Maureen Ah Sam: (03) 9254 1910
NTEU Indigenous Officer Joel Wright: (03) 9254 1910