Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Little is more important to a parent than their children’s future. It has often been said in this place that education really is the key to our economic future. It is also the key to our kids’ future. Clearly our economic future is very important to us all. As a matter of fact, it is probably the single biggest motivating force for members representing their electorates in this place—at least, I would hope so. We clearly acknowledge that there is nothing more important than the future growth of our economy and that one of the things we must do is ensure that there is an adequate supply of skilled labour. The Skills Australia Bill 2008 is a tangible response to the need to provide this country with a supply of skilled labour. It is the first response in 11 years to address the economic constraints imposed on our productivity by the distinct shortage in the supply of skilled labour at present. This bill is part of Labor’s five-point plan to address the inflationary pressures on our economy that we see at present, and one of the major things is the economic restraint imposed by the limited skilled labour available.

I have seen this up close and personal. I have two sons who now are both tradesmen. One of my boys works in the construction industry and the other works in the mining industry. Having knowledge of someone who works in the mining industry over recent times, I know the actual effects of the skills shortage there. Without putting too fine a point on it, the money that can be earned in that industry is certainly very big and it attracts a lot of young people. My son comes from the outer metropolitan areas of Sydney but he works at Blackwater, which is very close to your electorate of Maranoa, Mr Deputy Speaker Scott. He works side-by-side with a lot of young fellows out of Melbourne, Launceston, Hobart and every other mainland city. He works as an electrician.

The reason why skills are in short supply in other areas of our economy, particularly in the skilled trade areas, is that so many young people are now working in the mines. Mining companies can afford to pay good money, but, if you live in an outer metropolitan area of Sydney, or indeed any other area, it becomes a very difficult exercise to get a power point fixed or essential trade work done. This all came about because, when it was elected some 11 years ago, the Howard government saw fit to wind back the commitment to trade based training. It saw fit to wind back by 6.6 per cent Commonwealth investment in TAFE. What we have seen since 1997 is some 325 young people turned away from TAFE. These young people would have been our future electricians and carpenters but never got their start. At the stage where they were winding back their investment in those areas this same government saw fit to abolish the Australian National Training Authority because they thought: ‘Industry will take care of all that. We don’t have to worry about that. They will do that themselves.’ That was just a failed judgement on the part of the Howard government because, quite frankly, what we are now seeing is the direct product of years of neglect in attending to the supply of skilled labour in this country.

It is not simply the member for Werriwa standing here now and saying this; this is something that was put to the Howard government over the years since 1997. It was put to them by the Reserve Bank of Australia, who indicated the economic need for the government to address the mounting skills shortage they observed throughout the economy. It was put to the government no less than 20 times over a decade that it needed to act and do something about looking at the deplorable state of skills development within the Australian economy. As a consequence, as the member for Wills correctly pointed out, it left industry with no alternative but to apply short-term fixes to the skills problem by relying on 457 visas for the temporary importation of labour into this country to do the work that should have been performed by Australian labour. This should demonstrate that we cannot take a short-term fix to the issue of financial debt—as the Howard government did in those days—and cut off funds to the thing that can actually generate job growth and economic growth within the country.

But what was probably more disturbing, apart from the 20 warnings that were given by the Reserve Bank and apart from abolishing the Australian National Training Authority, were the comments by the then Minister for Vocational and Further Education, Mr Andrew Robb. At an industry forum he admitted: ‘We have got a problem with skills shortages. I mean that we knew it was coming but it has arrived with force and now it is going to get worse.’ That is not bad commentary from a minister who was responsible for skills development! He could hardly claim to be prophetic. Of course they knew there was a problem. There were 20 warnings that suggested as much from the Reserve Bank. And he was right in one respect: it is going to get worse unless it is addressed—and that is what this bill is designed to do. This bill is a tangible response to addressing the skills shortage. It is the first response in 11 years, but it is certainly one that, first and foremost, actually addresses vocational education. It has regard to, for instance, what the ACCI and St George Bank have been saying in their annual survey over the last three years, which is that the prime economic constraint in the economy at the moment is the skills shortage.

This bill will establish the independent body Skills Australia. It will be responsible for providing advice to the government on skills needs and skills development. It will work very closely with industry. As an independent statutory organisation it will consist of seven members drawn from a range of backgrounds, including economics, industry, academia and training providers. It will take a focused view on the provision of skills in this country. It will not only look at what is required now; it will address what will be required as a result of our projected economic growth in the future. It will do what the Howard government failed to do—that is, plan ahead. This organisation will be the key organisation to provide advice on the allocation of 450,000 skilled training places from 2007 to 2011. These are crucial, established training positions, if we are serious about addressing the economic constraints in our economy as it presently stands.

The Rudd Labor government is committed to tackling skills shortages and tackling them head-on. We understand the urgent need to increase the supply of skilled workers. We will ensure that investment is targeted where it is really needed. We will ensure that the results of this achievement are in line with the current demands of industry and also with the projected position of industry over the decades ahead.

This is a far-reaching bill in what it seeks to establish. It will be as visionary as when the Australian National Training Authority was first introduced under the Hawke administration. It will not only seriously address the skills shortages in this country; it will lay down the foundations to give skills development a real future in Australia.

See this speech in context