Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bendigo for his question, because this government believes that education and training is not only the engine room of a strong economy but the essential foundation of a prosperous and fairer society. That is why, from day one, Labor have pursued a deep commitment to improvement in education and training not just as a matter of economic necessity but as a matter of social progress. We know that we have to do better when it comes to skills training. This is particularly important given the investment pipeline that we are seeing in the years ahead—a very big task ahead in terms of skills training.

But we also need to make sure that the quality of our education can match all of the requirements of the jobs for the future. We see education and training at the very foundation of not only a prosperous society but also a prosperous economy, because it is also the key to productivity improvement. What we have seen over the past three years is a 40 per cent increase in training dollars. That has been essential. It will be essential to meet, in particular, the emerging needs and demand for further skilled labour and the apprenticeships that must come with that. That is why in the budget we extended the Apprenticeship Kickstart program and we established the Critical Skills Investment Fund. That is why in MYEFO last week we funded the trades apprentice income bonus in that important document.

We also understand how important schools education is as well, and the government’s efforts in this regard were commended in the OECD report this week. We have moved and made further commitments during the election campaign to provide new support for parents, students and teachers through high-quality online materials. We have, of course, provided incentives to improve school attendance and student performance, with rewards of up to $75,000 for primary schools and up to $100,000 for secondary schools. So much is being done and it is being done because we recognise that, in the economy of the future, knowledge and human capital are the key to future employment opportunities. Of course, the educational success of our children will determine how productive we as a nation are into the future.

Ultimately, education is the key to opportunity, as well as to prosperity. These are the very big issues that have the attention of the government. Of course, we have the shadow Treasurer over there who is more focused on lawnmowers and leaf blowers, but we on this side of the House are focused on the very big questions.

See this speech in context