Ms MACKLIN (8:25 PM) —There have been a number of amendments made in the Senate which I understand have been agreed to by the government, and the opposition welcomes those. I want to touch on some of those amendments briefly because they certainly have improved the operation of the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Youth Allowance) Bill 1997 .

The first is that a number of amendments have been made to the provisions about notification. We had some problems whereby there were a range of different notification provisions in the original bill. Some required written notification; others allowed the secretary to notify recipients of the youth allowance verbally. Some required the notices to contain details of the requirements and to set out the consequences of failure to comply with the notice; others did not. Some gave the recipients seven days to comply with the requirement; others did not set any notice period.

I am pleased that the amendments ensure that all notification must be in writing, must give details of the requirements and set out the consequences of non-compliance, and give 14 days notice. It is very important that people who are in receipt of or are applying for the youth allowance have very clear requirements in doing so. I am pleased that the government has seen fit to agree to these amendments.

Another area is where people will be defined as being independent if both parents are serving a prison sentence. The amendment removes the requirement that the prison sentence be of at least 10 years. So that is a more realistic situation for young people who find themselves in that circumstance.

Another area of considerable disagreement between the major parties is about the age of independence for students, and there was considerable debate in the Senate about this issue. We do know that the government significantly increased the age of independence for students to 25 and I am very pleased that an amendment moved by the Labor opposition was successful in the Senate and has been accepted by the government so that the age of independence will be progressively reduced over time. Students will recall that Labor in government did get the age of independence down to 22. That would be much more acceptable to students than the age that the government has increased it to, which is now 25 years.

Another important amendment is that in relation to the nature of the work attachment required if a person is to be found to be independent. What we have now is that a person only needs to have earned the lower amount represented by 75 per cent of the maximum Commonwealth training award, rather than the previous amount which had been in the bill, which was that young people would be expected to earn 50 per cent of average weekly earnings during a previous 18-month period to be deemed to be independent. We were of the view that that was too harsh a requirement on young people, particularly given the opportunities for work that exist out there in what is a very tough work environment, and that it represents a more realistic assessment of the independence of young people, given the wages and the work opportunities that are available to them.

Another area that we were pleased about the government accepting is the extension of exemptions in relation to those who are under 18 years of age. Members would recall that the government, when it first introduced this legislation, was determined to see that young people who did not attend school under the age of 18 would not be eligible for unemployment benefits.

We took the view that this was too harsh a measure and that there were more positive ways of encouraging young people to stay at school. We certainly are of the view that it is in the interest of young people to stay at school for as long as possible. (Extension of time granted) However, we take the view that there are positive ways to do that rather than just taking the stick to young people. We moved an amendment that would enable young people to receive their unemployment benefits if they were willing to enter case management and seek employment rather than being in full-time education. I am pleased that the government has agreed to this, because it would have been a very serious state of affairs if young people who, for whatever reason, would not or could not go back to school were unable to have any form of support. It is a very important change.

There are two issues on which we are very disappointed that the government has not seen fit to support the amendments of the opposition. One is very significant: the age of independence for unemployed adults. The age of independence is now 21 for unemployed people. We think this is a very backward step. In every other walk of life, when you are 18 you are considered to be an adult—you can vote, go to war or get married. To all intents and purposes, people at the age of 18 are considered to be adults. As far as this government is concerned, that is no longer the case if they are unemployed.

This is a very backward step. It will have a significant impact on low income families, which will have to take considerable responsibility for the incomes and living standards of their adult offspring. If families on average incomes—I am talking about family incomes of $35,000 a year—have an unemployed adult living with them, that family will be $55 a week worse off because this government has decided that young people are no longer independent at the age of 18 if they cannot find a job. It is, as I said, a very backward move.

Another issue on which the government, for reasons that are beyond me, failed to accept an amendment from the opposition was the proposal to extend the income bank to young people other than students. We welcome the government's proposal to have an income bank for students. It recognises that getting access to employment is not easy for young people and that often they can get casual work, save a bit of money and keep themselves going for a while. Labor sought to have this opportunity extended to young unemployed people as well as to young students. Unfortunately, the government did not accept the amendment. That will mean that young people who are unemployed will see their living standards reduced as a result.

As I said, we are pleased that the government has accepted some of our amendments. They will improve the legislation to a degree. However, Labor will be voting against the bill again, most significantly because of the intention of the government to continue to increase the age of independence from 18 to 21 for young unemployed people. This will impose considerable burdens on their families and on the young people themselves, and it is something that we will not support.