By Marina Cameron
The government announced on June 18 that from July next year, a new common youth allowance will replace unemployment benefits for young people aged 18-20, Austudy and youth training, sickness and family allowances.
The government claims that the CYA is aimed at creating greater incentives for young people to gain training, and that around 70,000 students will benefit by receiving rent assistance as part of their allowance. It argues that the CYA is not a savings measure, and actually represents extra expenditure of $25 million.
However, the CYA provides measly increases to students, while further attacking the rights of young unemployed people. Measures announced include:
1) No unemployment benefits for 16-17 year olds. At least 25,000 young people will lose any dole payments — and will no longer appear in official unemployment figures if they are forced back to school. Young people who are not in school or TAFE, or working, will be entirely reliant on their families for support.
Embarrassed by having to admit that funding cuts caused 60,000 people to miss out on TAFE places this year, the government has said that it will make special allowances for young people who miss out on education places. Benefits will be available only if young people are able to prove this, or prove that they are ill or have sick parents, or are homeless.
2) Means testing for unemployment benefits up to age 21. The message is clear: families will have to bear the brunt of youth unemployment. Benefits begin to be reduced when combined parental income reaches $23,500, and cut out altogether at $41,000. Around 13,000 young people will lose all benefits, and 33,000 others will get less.
The same means test was applied to Austudy last year, leading to massive administrative problems which left hundreds of students without their rightful benefit. Cutting thousands of jobs in public service areas responsible for the administration of the CYA is likely to lead to further problems.
3) Rent assistance for students and young unemployed if they live away from home in order to pursue their studies or look for a job. This will benefit students and unemployed from rural areas, but not those living in the same vicinity as their parents.
Coalition senators in rural electorates received more complaints about Austudy cuts last year than they did about gun laws, because the new means test disproportionately affects people in rural areas, who have assets but little income. Rent assistance solves this problem for John Howard, without giving much to anyone else.
4) To be assessed as independent, young people must have been married or de facto, assessed homeless or have worked for 18 months full time. Currently, unemployed must have worked or looked for work for 13 weeks, and Austudy recipients must have worked full time for three out of the last four years. Changing the requirement won't substantially help students, and will drastically hurt unemployed.
5) The allowance will start at $145 a week. This is a welcome increase for students, paid for by cutting the level of the youth dole, but is still barely enough to cover living costs. The maximum allowance will be a woefully inadequate $290 a week for a young person with a partner and children.
6) Thresholds for money earned while receiving benefits will remain $6000 for students, $1530 for unemployed. The government has dropped the proposal to restrict the amount that students could earn to only $30 per week, on the basis of supporting the idea of students working to pay for their own education.
Marcus Greville, education officer at the University of Sydney and a Resistance member, told Green Left: "The government is hoping to stave off student opposition by throwing a few crumbs their way, but student groups have pledged to oppose any attacks on youth income support. The government cut Austudy massively last year, and undoubtedly plans to cut income support to students further.
"The government hasn't announced yet what it is going to do with Abstudy, but given that it was cut badly in the May budget, it is likely to face further attack, or possible abolition. This is another fight that students need to take up."
Kathy Newnam, a Resistance member who ran in the Brisbane City Council elections this year on a platform opposing work for the dole, said, "Instead of tackling a youth unemployment level of around 30%, the government is attacking the victims. Young people are being railroaded off the dole queues and into further education, while the government is simultaneously cutting funding to higher education and TAFE.
"Even if you can get it, further education is no guarantee of employment; if you can't, youth wages and work for the dole will increasingly be the only options."
The government also announced on June 18 that it is offering thousands of new apprenticeship and trainee places over the next year. Newnam pointed out that "legislation introduced last year has reduced wages for these positions by up to 25%. The implications of this for driving down the wages of other workers is serious, but there has been almost no response to the CYA by trade union leaderships."