THE State Government should support a Youth Parliament Bill that seeks increased support for students who have to move out of home to attend university, according to a local parliamentarian.
Eastern Victoria MLC Philip Davis said the Youth Parliament, in its annual sitting at the Victorian Parliament earlier this month, criticised the proposed Federal Government changes to the Youth Allowance, saying they were being unduly harsh on students from country areas.
He said their case had been reinforced in a just-released report of the Foundation for Young Australians, How Young People are Faring that found unemployment among people aged 15 to 19 had soared from 12.2 per cent to 18.5 per cent.
This would preclude an increasing number of intending tertiary students from working to qualify for Youth Allowance.
"Already it is the case that a far lower proportion of country students than city students attend university, and the reason is simply that they and their families cannot afford it,'' Mr Davis said.
"The planned tightening of eligibility criteria for the Youth Allowance will exacerbate the present disparity in higher education opportunities between city and country students.''
For more, read Friday's Gippsland Times.