WA Liberals pledge to boost Boarding Away from Home Allowance and stop robbing of ag college trust funds

A grant designed to help nearly 2000 regional families with the cost of boarding school would more than double to $3132 per student under a Liberal Government. The State would also stop robbing the trust funds of WA’s agricultural colleges after taking 20 per cent of the income generated by students since mid-2018. The WA Liberals today announced the Boarding Away from Home Allowance would be increased if they formed government after the March 13 State Election. They also announced WA Labor’s “ill-thought out” decision to take money from the Agricultural Education Farm Provision Trust Fund would be reversed. It comes after WA Nationals leader Mia Davies last year revealed her party would adopt the same policies if it formed a coalition government after the election. Liberal shadow education and training minister Donna Faragher said the increased allowance would help parents in isolated locations throughout the state. Worth $1477 this year, the annual Boarding Away from Home Allowance is available to families with children at boarding school across WA. WA Labor slashed the allowance in 2017 as part of an $800 million wind-back of Royalties for Regions funding, which paid for about $700 of each grant. The Boarding Away from Home Allowance itself has not been increased since 2010 when it was bolstered from $1320 to $2105 by the Barnett Government. Ms Faragher said the significant reduction had “increased pressure on families” across WA. “In 2017, WA Labor significantly reduced the Boarding Away from Home Allowance by removing the Royalties for Regions funding,” she said. “This decision significantly impacted regional and remote students and increased pressure on families who access the allowance. “The Liberal Party’s announcement to more than double the allowance demonstrates our commitment to regional education in this State. “It recognises the strong advocacy of organisations such as the Isolated Children and Parents Association, who have consistently highlighted their concerns over the decision and have called on the State Government to reinstate its funding.” Ms Faragher said the WA Liberals’ decision to stop taking revenue the Agricultural Education Farm Provision Trust Fund would be welcomed. In 2018, Education Minister Sue Ellery announced the trust would lose 20 per cent of funds as part of Labor’s sweeping cuts to regional education. The trust funds are generated through student-driven commercial productivity at schools in Cunderdin, Denmark, Harvey, Morawa, Narrogin and Esperance. Mr Faragher said the trust provided agricultural colleges with an essential source of funding for a range of projects, machinery and equipment. “The decision to strip money from the fund has had a significant impact on agricultural colleges and their ability to further invest in regional education,” she said. Liberal candidate for the Agricultural Region Steve Martin said both of the commitments were important for WA’s vital agricultural sector. “These (agricultural) colleges are the training pipeline for future agricultural sector professionals,” he said. “This decision to reverse Labor’s syphoning of money to pay for their election commitments will ensure our agricultural colleges are adequately resourced. “This increase in the BAHA will also make a real difference to regional families and allow students to access an appropriate standard of education.” The WA Liberals’ BAHA announcements comes after The WA Nationals last year announced they would more than double the allowance if they formed government this year.