Mr TONY SMITH (10:03 AM) —The Student and Youth Assistance Act makes provision for certain benefits for students and young people, and it has been taken advantage of by many constituents in my electorate. I have had a number of young people come to see me about various aspects of this particular scheme. Indeed, during a youth forum that we had in my office some months ago, last year, this was one area that raised some comment from time to time in the course of that discussion.

The principal act provides, as I say, for the establishment of the Austudy scheme, and the financial supplement scheme itself provides for repayable loans for tertiary students. The scheme was introduced in the Student and Youth Assistance Act 1992 and was commenced in January 1993. It is an optional loan scheme. It gives eligible tertiary students greater flexibility in meeting their financial needs.

The member for Werriwa (Mr Latham) made some comment about the government not being interested in students. I say that the government is sensitive to the needs of students and is sensitive to the direction in a government policy sense that provides opportunities for students and gives them a facility that is available to meet the needs of their particular case but, at the same time, is a responsible attitude to them. The particular amendment, for example, providing for the cooling off period is a demonstration of that greater responsibility.

The 14-day cooling off period for the financial supplement applications does give students who have applied for a financial supplement loan a period to reconsider their circumstances, and, if they so decide, they can withdraw their application without penalty. The amendments will be a significant improvement on the current arrangements under which a student can withdraw his or her application, but only before receiving any financial supplement payments. A student who does not wish to take advantage of the cooling off period will be able to waive that right to withdraw and this will enable a much faster processing regime to be put in place. Obviously those students will be in a position to say that they are sure that they want to apply for a financial supplement.

The bill also inserts the prescribed amounts for the year of income ending 30 June 1998 which will also determine the amount of the person's accumulated financial supplement debt that must be repaid in respect of that year. As 1997-98 is the first assessable year in respect of financial supplement debts, the amendment must be in place before the ATO commences the collection of these debts on 1 July 1998.

There are also a number of other minor amendments which will facilitate the program's administrative arrangements. The government has demonstrated a strong commitment to this scheme and also to the students of Australia—a responsible commitment, in my view. The comments by the member for Werriwa are not accepted.

The direction that has been taken by the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (Dr Kemp) in this particular matter is a good one. I note the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (Mr Abbott) is here to support the bill and I commend the efforts that he has taken, in the two years that we have been in government, in demonstrating to the students of Australia that this government has a commitment to their needs and is sensitive to the position that they wish to take in relation to whether they want to take advantage of this scheme or to proceed under some other arrangements. In all of the circumstances the Student and Youth Assistance Amendment Bill 1998 is a good piece of legislation and I commend it to the House.