THE prolonged drought has wrecked the chances of thousands of rural youth going to university, Federal Parliament has been told.
Liberal frontbencher Sharman Stone pleaded with the government for help on the "human tragedy" of futures being stunted by rising rural poverty.Dr Stone said the uptake of tertiary places in her Victorian border seat of Murray had dropped by 50 per cent.
The position wasn't much better with apprentices.
Dr Stone said Murray was once one of the most affluent farming regions in Australia.
Now families had trouble putting food on the table, she said.
Only two days ago the Heinz factory in Echuca donated a huge volume of food and baby food to struggling families.
Many families couldn't afford to support their children at university, typically in Melbourne or even Bendigo or Wodonga.
"This is extremely serious," Dr Stone said.
"...It is destroying their futures."
Dr Stone said Liberal MPs from rural seats were developing policies to give rural students enough to live on.
"I beg the government to turn its attention urgently to this problem," she said.
"Not only do we have this human tragedy of individuals being unable to develop their full potential, but the nation is missing out on the building of human capital."
Dr Stone was speaking in a continuing debate on legislation to set up a new authority to develop a national curriculum for schools.
AAP
