The Liberal Nationals are calling on the Andrews Labor Government to give Victorian students and their families much needed financial relief by rolling over this year’s student myki cards for a free year of travel in 2021 for students in Year 11 and below, and provide a refund to students currently in Year 12.
This year’s school year has been interrupted with many students hardly attending face-to-face learning at all and with multiple student passes a significant outlay for many Victorian families. Providing an extra year on these passes not only makes sense, but it’s the right thing to do for Victorian families who are doing it tough.
Labor’s current refund policy for student mykis is far too inflexible and doesn’t consider the uncertain environment many Victorian families are facing. The current refund policy unfairly only applies to the date of when a parent requests a refund, not when the pass was last used.
The hundreds of thousands of Victorian parents who have been helping their children learn from home have better things to do than to apply for a refund for a student myki pass their child was unable to use for most of the year.
Victorians have no confidence in the Andrews Labor Government’s ability to get Victoria back to work and back in business and slugging parents for public transport costs that their children did not use is not right and is not fair.
Comments attributable to the Leader of the Opposition, Michael O’Brien:
“Rolling over this year’s student myki passes for students just makes sense and Daniel Andrews should announce that he will do it immediately.
“Labor’s current refund policy for student myki passes just punishes parents who have already done it really tough this year.
“So many Victorian families are struggling financially due to Labor’s second wave of coronavirus, rolling over student mykis for a free year of travel in 2021 is the least Daniel Andrews can do.”
Comments attributable to the Shadow Minister for Public Transport (Metropolitan), David Davis:
“2020 student mykis have barely been used and Daniel Andrews’ refund policy is inflexible and unfair.
“Having been forced to do the work of the Education Department for much of 2020 themselves, the least Melbourne families deserve to have their 2020 student myki cards extended for a year free of charge.”
