Whilst the Rudd Government refuses to address the dilemma facing university students in New England, the Coalition has moved in the Senate to split the start-up and relocation scholarships out of the controversial youth allowance legislation.

The Nationals Duty Senator for New England Senator John Williams said Education Minister Julia Gillard has had plenty of time to negotiate in good faith, but she still insists that New England students must find 30 hours of work a week for 18 months over a two year period to qualify for the independent rate of youth allowance.

“This is ludicrous. I challenge Minister Gillard to come to New England and identify the jobs that would offer that amount of hours each week for the prolonged period of time.

Despite being told time and time again the Coalition would pass the new scholarships if she introduced them in separate legislation, the Minister has refused to do so, denying students access to funds this year.

We are not prepared to wait any longer. The Coalition has moved to split the Government’s Bill in the Senate into a Scholarships Bill and a Youth Allowance Reform Bill in order to break the deadlock, and get the scholarships flowing to students as soon as possible.

The onus is now on the Government to support it”, Senator Williams said.

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