Two members of the Balranald Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) have been appointed on the NSW-ICPA board at the NSW-ICPA state conference in Bourke last month.
Balranald branch president Claire Butler was announced as state vice president and Rachel Brindley was announced as state treasurer.
The ICPA is a voluntary, non-profit, apolitical parent body dedicated to ensuring that all rural and remote students have equity of access.
Ms Butler said the conference had been very successful and informative.
“We had an absolutely fantastic opening welcome from Louth Public School in the form of a video,” Ms Butler said.
“There were some local speakers who spoke about the issues faced by their own branch and had a inspirational talk from Bourke’s founding member Wally Mitchell who helped launch the group 45 years ago.
“He gave an entertaining speech and encouraged us to keep our local branches alive.”
Former Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath was the guest speaker at the conference and spoke about his time growing up in the country.
“His speech covered both his public and private life,” she said.
“He also spoke about the McGrath Foundation. It was quite inspiring to hear about the ups and downs of his life.”
NSW Department of Education representatives Mike Tom and Geoff Pellizzer also attended the conference and held a Q and A with attendees.
“They spoke about the developments in rural education and took questions,” she said. “It was good to have a discussion with them about our problems and have our voices heard.”
One of the main aspects of the conference is the discussion and carrying of motions.
This year 50 motions were put forward by the 29 branches across the state.
“Balranald had six motions put forward for us by the Wentworth branch,” Ms Butler said.
“Everyone has the chance to have their opinion heard and speak to any motion. You can really feel the emotion and passion in their voices when they speak about issues close to their hearts.”
The passed motions are then funnelled into the state council which are brought up to NSW politicians at meetings in Sydney.
One of the main motions put forward by Balranald at the conference was the need for “rural and remote schools to be prioritised for any expansion of the mobile coverage footprint into regional Australia”.
“There is a huge issue with our satellite schools and internet infrastructure,” Ms Butler said.
“Now that the department heads know the specific areas where the problems are, they will be able to have a better grasp of the issue.
“Mr Tom was great good at talking about where the situation is currently at improving infrastructure.”
Another pressing issue for the Balranald branch was the issue of access to Youth Allowance for students studying away from home.
“The NSW-ICPA requests the relevant minister recognises students from rural and remote areas who live away from home to access a tertiary education, immediately after completing their secondary education, as eligible for the Independent Youth Allowance at the Living Away from Home rate,” the motion read.
Currently students are eligible for independent Youth Allowance under the part time work earnings rule for rural and remote students if – since leaving secondary school – they have earned at least $23,479 in an 18 month period or worked part-time at least 15 hours per week for at least two years.
Ms Butler said this was an issue that not only affected children in isolated areas, but children in towns like Swan Hill too.
“The tertiary allowance point of view is that children must take a gap year and work for many months to prove their independence before going onto Youth Allowance,” she said.
“Otherwise, they find themselves moving to another town to study and struggling to pay for all their expenses living out of home.”
To read more about this story, grab a copy of April’s North West Farmer (inside Wednesday, April 12’s Guardian).
