playboy2njoy said:
Those people, HAVE all the opportunities. Lets get a few things straight however. The government isnt going to fund creation of University in the middle of nowhere just so a few people can study. If being an academic is what they want to do, moving to the city centre is a viable option. There are a number of allowances that can be obtained from centrelink, and nevertheless, many universities offer distance education, so its not that much of a biggie.
This has been the first year that I have applied myself to my studies. I wont be obtaining austudy next year, rather, ILL BE WORKING while I complete my degree. It seems like a novel concept to those of you who think that the government 'has' to provide all. You have enough. If you dont like the low-level of opportunities in your rural town, thats what you have a major/representative for.
Im not going to specifically single out anyone, but if you have shown excellence in your studies, the government WILL do all it can to help you relocate here. This is a pointless topic, most of your are simply humanities university students, always protesting about something or other. Lets get a few things straight. In South America, NO student is lent monies for his University Degree. So how do they consistantly produce the worlds leading engineers and lawyers? By showing their students that HARD WORK is the way to go. The government doesnt offer any concessions for study, like Australia does. If you dont like study, then you get off your ass and work. Its simple. And the reason why Argentina has a ratio of 3:7 bull-collar to white-collar workers respectively is because it instills a psyche of hard work into students at a young age.
All of the persons who are complaining have a luxury that many university students in South America do not have. The Internet. How would you live without the internet? How would you study? WE have it ALOT easier than anyone else. I'm undecided on who I will vote for next year, in my opinion, Labor and Liberal are both shit. They will always do something to piss people off. But considering our position in the world, and the opportunities presented to us, we are not lagging behind in anything.
Sorry but this doesn't make much sense.
First of all, the comparison with South America... South America is a continent for starters, is what you are saying true across all countries of South America, I'm just curious. Also, most parts of South America are not very developed countries. Australia needs an educated population in order to be globally competitive amongst first world nations. Comparing Australia to South America is like saying people in Australia have it better than people in Uganda. It's not really a valid comparison. Our universities are being sucked dry of funding by the government, it may not be too long before we are lagging behind.
Also I don't think Australia is really lacking in the hard work ethos... don't we have the longest working hours a week in the world on average?
Also, there is university education available for a lot cheaper prices for nationals than Australia overseas, like in Germany and other European nations. So we don't have it ALOT easier than "anyone" else. There are other systems out there.
I haven't seen many people here protesting about HECS, most people seem to be able to live with that... I can't see I'm keen about it being increased because it does create a mental class barrier for university study. But I think maybe there should be more clear information about what HECS is about for people earlier in the schooling so they don't disregard uni as an option simply because they think it is too expensive without understanding the system.
Now I don't know if you read my last post, but Centrelink does not really work effectively. I have said this a billion times on this board, because people don't understand what it takes to qualify. If you are not independent from your parents (i.e. haven't earnt more than $18000 in 18 months) your parent's assets can be taken in to account and can exclude you from recieving the payment. For example, your parents may have a low income, but may have assets such as a farm or small business which would mean you can't get the allowance even if they don't have much of an income to afford to help you get to uni. Also, people say defer for a year and work, but as I have previously explained but nobody has appeared to read, it is extremely difficult to find employment in regional areas. Hence if you are from a rural/regional area, its extremely hard to find enough work to become "independent" for youth allowance purposes. Also, it is difficult for people who have to move to attend a regional uni because they can't find part time work while they are studying- especially in uni towns where there is a huge student population and not many student jobs.
Also on the whinge to the mayor of your rural town thing, mayors and govt reps can't pull jobs out of nowhere, that doesn't really make any sense either.
Also, if you want to hear about some of the other shortcomings of student income support, go and read the findings of the senate inquiry in to the issue earlier this year which was initiated by the democrats. There are submissions from heaps of groups highlighting the problems- not just from the student associations, but from a wide range of community groups. For example, I don't know if many people have heard this but the amount of money you are allowed to earn on youth allowance without losing any of the payment has not increased since 1992... even though the GST was introduced and raised everything by 10%. Also, people who recieve the dole recieve more money than students, and their payments are indexed differently so they raise by more than youth allowance/austudy each year. Also people on Austudy don't recieve any rent assistance.
You capitalize the part about you working as if the people who are on the opposing side of this argument are bums who bludge off the government or something, and this is not true. Most uni students do work part time or more than part time to pay for their study. I worked 45 hours a week for a two month period earlier this year, last year I worked 36 hours a week for three months and I usually work 15-25 hours a week, so I know what working is, it is not a "novel" concept to me. I think that many people on the opposing side of this argument just don't see the huge costs students face when they have to move away to study. I am fully self supporting and have been since I moved away to uni, so I know what the costs are because I paid them out of my own pocket. But I was fortunate to have a supportive family behind me that would bail me out if things ever went to shit financially. My family also own a business, so I was guaranteed work as soon as I finished the HSC to save. I also came to the city with a decent set of job skills which has made finding work as easy as pie. Not everybody has these opportunities. I also think there are many people on here who would have no idea what being really poor is (not that I have experience of it either, but I can empathize with people, I have seen it). The costs compound even more when more than one child wants to go away to study.
Also, "most of us are simply humanities students"..... I was dux of my school and had to get 96.5 to get in to my "simple" humanities course... a higher mark than it takes to get in to most engineering or science courses. So don't hold my degree against me, because it won't work. And also, I don't know what government you are talking about but I know a lot of people that did well in their studies and the government didn't provide any help in relocating people.
You need to understand how the system works before you can pass judgment on it. You don't seem to have much of a clue about what the government does and does not provide.
