Page 4695 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 10 November 2009
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particularly the global financial crisis. In the end, because the commonwealth government stops the youth allowance, the ACT taxpayer pays and not the commonwealth.
I mentioned earlier that there is very little information available around the implementation of this scheme and the implications for the ACT. We are seeking additional information from the minister in relation to the financial impact this will have on the ACT in relation to the administrative, teaching and building resources required in the department, schools and tertiary institutions to cater for the additional students. There has been no clear plan put forward by the ACT government that shows how these issues are being addressed. The commonwealth government funding support is also unclear.
I note that the Melbourne Age on 5 November reported that applications for tertiary courses for 2010 were up by six per cent compared with last year, despite a smaller year 12 cohort, and that mature age students accounted for 82 per cent of the extra applications. This is a reflection of the softening of the labour market and fierce competition for jobs, but for “earn or learn”, it is also an indicator of the battle for university places for students. In the ACT we may face the same situation where younger students wanting to learn under this earn or learn policy cannot get places at our universities and will seek places at CIT, which will already have a higher intake of 15 to 17-year-olds. This may well mean that CIT will not have enough places to meet the demand.
The ACT Greens will support this amendment to the Education Act, but we call on the government to engage with all sections of the community on this change, not just the education sector. This change may also have financial or other implications for groups such as youth and community services, who may end up providing services or programs as part of the earn or learn policy.
I repeat that it is wrong to expect education to fix everything. This in no way means that we should not be providing a range of educational opportunities, but it is clear from the concerns raised by those dealing with young people in this age bracket that the broader implications of the change need to be considered. It is also clear from the briefings we have had that the minister’s own department acknowledges there will be significant challenges with those who do not comply with the requirements or, as I said, fall through the cracks, and there are between 100 and 400 young people in this category at present.
Just moving on to the scrutiny report on this proposed amendment to the Education Act, we note that there are a number of inconsistencies around the explanatory statement tabled in the Assembly and the proposed amended Education Act. In addition, the scrutiny of bills and subordinate legislation committee raised some concerns about some of the changes being compatible with the Human Rights Act 2004. So I do call on the minister to address those concerns and ensure adjustments are made.
In conclusion, it is incredibly important that we do provide opportunities for our young people. We want to ensure that there are a range of programs and opportunities
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