Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to speak to the Skills Australia Bill 2008. This bill represents the first instalment of Labor delivering on its election commitments to address the skills crisis that is restricting our economic growth and fuelling inflation. Delivering on another election commitment, this bill will allow for the establishment of Skills Australia. Skills Australia will be a statutory body and will provide independent expert advice relating to the nation’s workforce skills and development needs. It will be steered by a chair and six other members drawn from industry, economics, academia and educational backgrounds. Skills Australia will advise the Minister for Education and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations directly.

The bill outlines the constitution and membership of Skills Australia, including the chair and six other members, to be appointed by the minister. Skills Australia will present to the minister an annual report, which the minister will table in this place.

The creation of Skills Australia represents a significant shift in skills and training planning in this country. Gone are the days of the Howard government and the narrow and failed voucher system which was driven by the supply of labour. Skills Australia will make sure that Australian government policies to address the skills shortage are driven by the real and emerging demands of industry. We need to ask ourselves how we got to the point where skills shortages are one of the biggest impediments to economic growth through gains in productivity.

Addressing the skills crisis is a top priority for the Rudd Labor government, unlike those opposite who chose to ignore the 20 warnings over the past years from the Reserve Bank that skills shortages were limiting economic growth, driving up inflation and therefore driving up interest rates. Those opposite reduced funding for the TAFE system, denying more than 300,000 Australians the chance to gain further vocational education and training during the life of the previous government.

I do not have to look too far myself to see the impact that skills shortages are having on our economy. I just need to look at my own electorate of Canberra and the ACT more generally. In the ACT we have the lowest unemployment rate in the country, currently at 2.1 per cent. We have the highest number of job advertisements, in proportion to the workforce, of anywhere in Australia. We have the nation’s highest workforce participation rate, at almost 73 per cent, and we actually have far more jobs advertised than there are people unemployed.

Whilst this is a great position, in one sense, for the ACT economy, it highlights the impacts that those skills shortages are having on local businesses. As I talk to employers in my electorate, they constantly state that the skills shortage is their biggest impediment to growing their business. While the Howard government sat on its hands, the state and territory governments have been quite active in taking steps to identify skills shortages and finding ways to fix them. The ACT Labor government established the ACT Skills Commission, which released its interim report in October last year. I congratulate the ACT Stanhope government for taking this significant step and getting on with the job of attacking the skills shortages problem in our community. I note that the interim report has been well received here in Canberra by business groups, unions, training providers and the broader community. I commend the Canberra Business Council and its CEO, Chris Peters, on their positive contribution and leadership through the business community in addressing the impacts of the skills shortage here in the ACT.

Of course, the skills crisis is a national problem. It requires national leadership from the federal government and, ultimately, a national solution. Establishing Skills Australia is an important first step in tackling those skills shortages. The Rudd Labor government will be funding the creation of an additional 450,000 training places over the next four years. Unlike those opposite, we on this side of the House recognise that we cannot afford to sit back and allow this lack of attention to continue. We believe in swift action to address the skills crisis, which is why we will have an additional 20,000 training places available from April this year.

That is a real, immediate change. From next month, an additional 20,000 Australians will be able to access vocational training. These places will be directed at those people who are currently outside the workforce. This will mean another 20,000 people, with newly attained skills, can enter the workforce on completion of their training. This will make a huge difference to employers around the country and to my own town of Canberra. Labor will also be supporting 65,000 apprenticeships over the next four years.

I have in my hand the skills in demand list for the ACT, provided by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. It makes for some fascinating reading and clearly shows the breadth of the skills crisis in my community. In the ACT, we have critical shortages in all engineering trades, all automotive trades, all electrical and electronics trades, all food trades, and all construction trades bar one: stonemasons. We also have serious shortages in professions and in information and communication technology sectors. This means that vacancies cannot be filled for occupations such as architects, metal machinists, locksmiths, welders, sheet metal workers, motor mechanics, panelbeaters, spray painters, electricians, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics, computer programmers and other IT specialists, roof tilers and even brickies, through to butcher, baker and cabinet maker—the list goes on and on. It really makes one wonder how on earth a government of 12 years could allow this situation to develop.

It is only with real, direct and timely action that we can begin to address the skills crisis left unaddressed for so long by the former government. I am very pleased to be part of a government that is taking swift action and definitive action on this critical issue. The establishment of Skills Australia is the start. It will lay the foundation for continued positive action from the Rudd Labor government to address the skills crisis. I am looking forward to both the establishment of Skills Australia and a turnaround in the deplorable state of affairs left by the previous government.

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