Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Skills Australia Bill 2008 as one of the first pieces of legislation to be dealt with by this parliament.

This is an important piece of legislation.

It will establish Skills Australia, a statutory body that will provide the government with independent, high-quality advice to assist us in targeting government investment in training.  It will give the government advice that we can use to assist businesses and workers across the country.

This legislation is being brought in front of parliament as a priority because we understand the urgent need to increase the supply of skilled workers, but also to ensure that our investment is targeted to where it is really needed and that the results of this investment are in line with what industry is demanding.

The Reserve Bank of Australia warned the Howard/Costello government that skill shortages were threatening growth and contributing to higher inflation and higher interest rates on more than 20 occasions. The coalition ignored these warnings and attempted to mask skill shortages by using phrases such as ‘skills needs’ or ‘skills gaps’. It is perhaps worth noting that the current Leader of the Opposition and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition are the two education ministers who presided over this track record of failure.

The former Minister for Vocational and Further Education, Andrew Robb, admitted as much last year in an address to an industry group when he said, ‘We’ve got a problem with skill shortage ... I mean we knew it was coming but it has arrived with a force ... And you know, it’s only going to get worse.’ That was the attitude of the Howard government.

Unlike the Howard government, the Rudd Labor government is committed to tackling skill shortages head on.

Skills Australia is a key plank in the government’s five-point plan to fight inflation.  This is a plan that addresses both the demand side and supply side pressures on inflation.

Under this plan the Australian government will firstly ensure that we take the pressure off demand by running a strong budget surplus through fiscal restraint.

Finance minister Lindsay Tanner has already announced $643 million in savings and the government is committed to an intensive review of all government spending to put downward pressure on inflation.

Secondly, in the period ahead the Australian government will examine all options to provide real incentives to encourage private savings and has already announced new first home savers accounts that will help Australians save a deposit for their first home.

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