Truants may lose family handouts

Australia's government yesterday came under fire from school principals and a welfare lobby over a plan to cut welfare payments to parents who do not regularly send their children to school.

Education Minister Julia Gillard told reporters the government will introduce legislation to the Parliament this week that would deny welfare payments for up to 13 weeks to parents who do not have a reasonable excuse for their children's failure to attend school.

Statistics suggest that currently up to 20,000 Australian children do not regularly go to school, Gillard said.