Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the amendment put forward by the member for Cunningham. It is welcome that all sides of the House are focused on what is a very important issue—that is, maintaining an appropriate level of skills in this country and in this economy and, on that basis, keeping us internationally competitive.

I speak on this bill with possibly more authority than most, having been an apprentice myself. I am an auto-electrician by trade and proud of it. If your car is older than about 1985, I am sure that I could still fix it for you. If it is more modern than that, then I might struggle a little bit with the new technology. I left school at 16. I did not like school all that much, I must say. I only ever wanted to do two things: a trade and to play first grade football for my hometown. These were two aspirations I achieved, I am happy to say. I was apprenticed by a wonderful couple by the name of Eryl and Marcia Lightfoot. They ran a workshop in my hometown of Cessnock, and I enjoyed the experience very much and am thankful to them to this day for that opportunity. After that, I went into my own business, which I operated with a partner, Greg Stacey, for around 10 years before going on to a less honourable trade called politics.

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