THOUSANDS of Australian university students protested last week at controversial decisions by the federal government to restructure its youth allowance schemes. Under the changes, the student-support programme, known as Austudy, along with youth training, sickness and family allow-ances, will be combined. All payments will be means-tested against combined parental incomes.
Although the government has, for the first time, included rent assistance for students in the restructuring, it also plans to abolish unemployment benefits for 16 and 17-year-olds, and will force parents to be more financially accountable until their children reach the age of 21.
At least 35,000 young people will have their entitlements re-duced and about the same number of 16 and 17-year-olds will lose their dole payments altogether. Another 13,000 people aged be-tween 18 and 20 will be refused any financial support when the means-tested common allowance is introduced next year.
Educators, parent organisations, youth workers and student groups attacked the changes. The critics warned that denying the dole to young people to try to force them back into the classroom could lead to a rise in the number of suicides. The rate of youth suicide in Australia is already among the highest in the western world.
The National Union of Students condemned the government. NUS president John Carey said that the government had no solutions to the problems of youth unemployment, but only heartless ways of taking money away from the most disadvantaged in society.
"The government is willing to let young unemployed people starve," Mr Carey said. "In no way can the common allowance be considered to provide solutions to unemployment. Rather, it seeks to eliminate more young people and students from receiving the dole and lessen the benefits for others."
The introduction of parental means-testing would hit students hard, he said. Thousands of part-time students who were on unemployment benefits would have their assistance cut and be forced further into poverty.
But David Kemp, the federal minister for vocational education and training, said the new youth allowance would encourage young people to take advantage of opportunities in education and training. The allowance would send a clear message to young people that the best pathway to a job was through education and training.
He said:"The current income- support system gives young people a misleading and damaging message - that the dole is an alternative to school or training."
The opposition parties in the senate have warned they will try to amend the new legislation so that the dole is not cut from teenagers under the age of 18.