Saffin calls for students to lobby Coalition over scholarships

Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin says the Liberal and National Parties have a lot of explaining to do as an estimated 1030 students in Page will now be without scholarships in 2010.

Ms Saffin said it is not too late for students to lobby the Leaders of the Liberal and National Parties to agree to the new scholarships.

“On Tuesday night, the Liberal and National parties joined with Family First Senator Steve Fielding to block the Government’s changes that would see Page students share in 150,000 new scholarships across the country and 100,000 students would be better off in 2010 through higher payments or receiving support as a dependant for the first time,” Ms Saffin said.

“The Government had introduced amendments that would have safeguarded entitlements for all students currently on a gap year in 2010, except those intending to live at home and whose parents earned more than $150,000 a year.

“Students currently on a gap year will now join their fellow students and miss out on $1434 in 2010, and $2254 every year beyond that.”

“But the Coalition and Senator Fielding now have until the Senate rises, possibly as early as Thursday, to reconsider their selfish actions and pass the Bill.

“I encourage local students to contact the Leaders of the Liberal and National Parties and ask them to vote to help deliver these 1030 scholarships across my electorate Page.

“In the past fortnight, every university group in Australia, the National Union of Students and every State and Territory Education and Training Minister called on the Senate to pass the Bill, but these calls were stubbornly ignored.”

Ms Saffin says that with the Bill defeated:

More than 150,000 students across Australia will now not receive a $2254 Start-Up Scholarship in 2010.

21,000 existing Commonwealth scholarships voted out of existence earlier in the year will not be paid, meaning there are no scholarships being paid by the Commonwealth in 2010.

More than 100,000 students across Australia will get less or no Youth Allowance in 2010.

Students who choose to move to study will not be eligible for a $4000 relocation scholarship in 2010.

Students with very high parental incomes will continue to receive Youth Allowance, including 18 per cent of students receiving Youth Allowance from families with incomes of more than $150,000, 10 per cent above $200,000 and 3 per cent from families with incomes above $300,000.

“The parental income test will remain at $32,800 so that students with parents earning more than this will continue to lose Youth Allowance,” Ms Saffin said.

“The age of independence will remain at 25 rather than be lowered to 22 by 2012, which would have seen an estimated 7600 new recipients of the independent rate of allowance across Australia.”

Related posts:

1. Farmers’ Association offers tertiary scholarships
2. Pensioners’ utilities allowance has not been scrapped: Saffin
3. Young scholars benefit from Far North Coast Law Society scholarships
4. Saffin steps up attack over false pensioner allowance claim
5. Three local students awarded Australian Vocational Student Prizes

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Related posts:

1. Farmers’ Association offers tertiary scholarships
2. Pensioners’ utilities allowance has not been scrapped: Saffin
3. Young scholars benefit from Far North Coast Law Society scholarships
4. Saffin steps up attack over false pensioner allowance claim
5. Three local students awarded Australian Vocational Student Prizes