Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In my view, this minister has indicated a complete lack of understanding of the vocational education sector, a deep lack of interest in getting a grip on the issues of his portfolio and an entire commitment to running superficial and particularly offensive arguments on the basis that somehow history has indicated that those of us on this side of the House have walked away from those who want to take on training in the traditional trades. It is, I know, a fairly abrupt and unkind assessment of his performance, but I can come to no other conclusion from observing him since my election to this place and his attempts to address the issues of vocational education in Australia at this time.

The minister’s greatest expression of passion in response to this matter of public importance was to bemoan the fact that nobody had asked him a question for 266 days. Given the quality of his responses, it is little wonder. I will steal the statement of the shadow minister for health and say: it is not about him; it is actually about the 270,000 young people who have been turned away from training opportunities over the 10 years of this government.

The member for Ballarat quite correctly identified that these job vacancies to which the minister refers—in particular, in the manufacturing sector in areas such as welding—are a surprise to no-one. They have been on the job shortage list for the 10 long years that the government has been in office and, most certainly, on that list since the minister has had responsibility for this portfolio.

The minister talks about talking with business, which is an important thing to do when developing a national vocational education and training program. For as long as I have been involved in vocational education and training—I started as a TAFE teacher in 1995—Australia has had an internationally recognised and admired TAFE training system which has produced some of the most valued traditional tradespeople in the world. These tradespeople are snapped up when they seek work overseas because we have delivered such high-quality trade training. Under the Hawke and Keating governments, the National Training Authority was established to allow businesses to have input into the development of a national training scheme. The minister’s argument that we on this side of the House are interested only in snobbish university qualifications and do not care about trade training not only is untrue, simplistic and lazy, but also ignores the fact that some of the biggest skills shortages in this country are in engineering and nursing, which require a university qualification. The minister’s assessment of the situation either is a wilful misrepresentation or indicates his ignorance of the skills shortages facing the nation today.

Following on from what the member for Ballarat said—because she and I often acknowledge the similarities in our experiences—in the eighties we had a downturn in the steel and mining industries in my area. I have raised it with the Australian Industry Group in my area—indeed, they have acknowledged it themselves—that employers took their eyes off the ball in terms of the long-term skills needs of this country.

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