Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Trade Support Loans Bill 2014 and the Trade Support Loans (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2014. As we have heard, these bills establish the Trade Support Loans Program for Australian apprentices. These loans will be concessional and income contingent with a lifetime limit of $20,000. The loans are repayable when the individual's income reaches the Higher Education Loan Program, HELP, repayment thresholds. The bills also provide for a 20 per cent discount to be applied to the loan incurred when the apprentice has successfully completed their apprenticeship.

I have a range of concerns about this government's approach generally to training and some of their cuts to education, particularly how they relate to many of the broken promises we have seen since the election. Prior to the 2013 election the Prime Minister announced the trade support loan, but he failed to tell apprentices and their families that he intended on scrapping Labor's $1 billion Tools For Your Trade program. He failed to tell those considering an apprenticeship that the $5,500 per apprentice under Labor's program would be axed. Our program was in recognition of the significant costs that apprentices often have for items such as uniforms, tools and the necessary safety equipment. They often have a whole range of significant costs.

We have seen this broken promise. We have seen a lot of broken promises throughout the budget and, in terms of what we had in place for apprentices, there certainly was another in this case. Before the election the Prime Minister had promised Australia's 400,000 apprentices more financial assistance to help them learn their trade and then find a really good job. But now, after the election, he is ripping away some of that support and breaking that promise in taking away the Tools For Your Trade program. What was equally disappointing was the industry minister's response to all of this—saying that it did not really matter because, under that other program, the apprentices were just spending their Tools For Your Trade money on tattoos and mag wheels. Quite frankly, this is very insulting; that is certainly what a lot of apprentices and their families have conveyed to me. It is incorrect and it shows how out of touch he and the government are when it comes to issues relating to training.

The fact is the government has replaced the payment we had in place with a debt. Apprentices cannot now buy their equipment without taking out a loan. They will have no choice but to sign up to the loan because the government has left no other financial support in place. As the shadow minister, the member for Cunningham, has said, Labor will not oppose the Trade Support Loans bill, but she did move an amendment. I understand that amendment includes a request that the House notes that the government has failed to: advise apprentices that they would be abolishing the Tools For Your Trade program, thus leaving Trade Support Loans as the only form of assistance for the purchase of tools;    adequately explain in clear language the interest rates and full liability of these loans; offer adequate protection for school based apprentices aged under 18; offer fair and reasonable transition arrangements for current apprentices; put in place adequate privacy protections for the large volumes of information that will be acquired through the Trade Support Loans Program; and offer apprentices the option of lump sum payments in order to purchase expensive items. These are all very good amendments in relation to this matter.

Youth unemployment is unacceptably high, particularly in regional communities like mine on the north coast of New South Wales. The Prime Minister has said that our young people must earn or learn, but he is taking away so many of the programs which actually support them to do so. These comments were echoed recently in The Australian when Tony Nicholson, the director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, made the point that the earn or learn requirement demanded of young people requires the government to provide support and training programs to assist young people gain the skills they need in the workplace.

The fact is the Abbott government has taken the axe to support for so many training programs for apprentices. There is a whole range of programs. As well as axing the Tools For Your Trade program, they have axed the Australian Apprentices Access program, which assisted vulnerable job seekers who found it difficult to enter employment with nationally recognised prevocational training support and assistance. This program was delivered by local providers who worked with local employers to deliver training to meet industry needs. Participants received individualised, intensive job search assistance.

Also axed was the Australian Apprenticeships Mentoring program which targeted apprentices who may face barriers to participation. Mentoring programs usually focus on that first year of training when, as we know and have heard today, apprentices are often at the most risk of withdrawing from their apprenticeships. Also axed was the Apprentice to Business Owner program which helped tradespeople who had completed their trade training make informed decisions about whether or not to start a business. The program provided business management skills to ensure participants have sound financial business plans and meet the requirements associated with employing staff. There was a whole range of programs.

The Abbott government has demonstrated they really do not understand the need for these important training programs. What they have slashed is a billion dollars in investment in skills and training for our workforce. I will read through some of these, including some of the ones I mentioned before; it is quite a long list. There are programs like the National Workforce Development Fund; the Workplace English Language And Literacy program; the Australian Apprenticeships Access program; Accelerated Australian Apprenticeships program; Australian Apprenticeships Mentoring program; the National Partnership Agreement on Training Places for Single and Teenage Parents; the Alternative Pathways program; the Apprentice to Business Owner program; the Productive Ageing through Community Education program; and the Step into Skills program—a whole range of programs that focused on upskilling existing workers to meet the needs of the modern workplace.

What is also a concern with the introduction of this bill is it raises a whole series of questions in terms of what the impacts will be, particularly in rural and regional areas. Will horticultural and agricultural students, who have lost their Tools For Their Trade grants, be eligible for Trade Support Loans? Another important question is: will parents now be responsible for a 16-year-old school based apprentice's $20,000 Trade Support Loan? In Senate estimates, the government confirmed they are looking to outsource debt management for Trade Support Loans. Realistically, is the government happy to potentially saddle young apprentices with $20,000 debts and leave them in the hands of private debt collectors? This raises a whole host of concerns as well.

We know that many apprentices have huge start-up and continuing costs for necessary tools and equipment but now they will be left with the debt under the Abbott government's program, rather than being provided important funds to purchase tools and get going in their chosen trade.

By comparison with all this Labor, when in government, put in place real support to help young people—particularly those in regional and rural Australia—to get in and finish an apprenticeship and undergo training. What we are seeing is this government gradually ripping away a lot of that support. We are also seeing very harsh actions by state Liberal and National Party governments, who are making massive cuts right across education. They are very harsh cuts in terms of slashing resources and funding for TAFEs, which provide such a great training resource, particularly for younger people in regional areas. We have seen them cutting many courses. We have seen them closing campuses. We have seen some real concerns about fee increases. We have seen staff numbers cut. This could have a devastating impact. I know first hand what a great job TAFEs do in my area, the north coast of New South Wales. There is an outstanding network of TAFEs there that really provides fantastic training for our young people. All that is under threat from the actions we are seeing from both federal and state governments.

It was great to see last week the Leader of the Opposition in New South Wales, John Robertson, announce some Labor policies to protect TAFE. It was fantastic to see those initiatives. He said that, if elected in New South Wales, Labor will abolish the Baird government's massive fee hikes to TAFE courses. He went on to say:

Labor will always treat TAFE is a central part of our public education system … We will stop the mass sackings, cuts to courses and the massive fee increases to ensure we have a fair and affordable vocational education and training system in New South Wales.

I commend the Leader of the Opposition for his very strong action in terms of the initiatives that Labor would introduce if in government in New South Wales, because it has been devastating to see what these cuts have meant to students right across the state—particularly for those in regional areas like my own.

It is only Labor that has properly provided funding for education and training right across the board. From this government we tend to see ongoing cuts in the training and education sectors. We were devastated to see in the budget those broken promises—that $80 billion in combined cuts to hospitals and schools is a major amount; some of those cuts to education will be devastating for younger people. Also of major concern in terms of accessing education was the deregulation of university fees. This has had a major impact and many people have raised concerns about what that will mean for families—particularly, again, from regional areas. Before the election the Prime Minister and all his then shadow ministers were saying, 'We will ensure the continuation of the current arrangements of university funding.' That has been a broken promise because the budget cut $5 billion from university funding, resulting in forecasts for fee rises of 40 to 60 per cent just to recoup the shortfall. We have also seen the government impose an interest rate of up to six per cent on those debts and the deregulating of universities, which makes it absolutely inevitable that fees will rise. That is a concern that many people have approached me about, particularly families who are so worried about how their children will be able to access university, knowing that it will be out of their range. We have seen some forecasts of jumps in fees that are quite frightening. Of course, there are often so many associated costs for people from rural and regional areas to even access a university, so those increases will add to that. It is a really big concern, not just from the perspective of a broken promise but because it means people from regional areas are more disadvantaged in being able to access any educational opportunities.

What we have seen across the board is this government cutting so much funding for training and so much funding for education and higher education. It is disheartening and upsetting, firstly to see a broken promise and then to see how it impacts people, particularly younger people, who will not be able to access adequate training. I am particularly worried about how the trade support loans will saddle younger people with huge debts they will have to carry and that will have a huge impact on their lives. That is combined with some of the massive TAFE cuts that we are seeing right across the states. We are certainly seeing that in New South Wales, where it is a big concern. Overall, it shows that the government is out of touch in so many areas. We saw that throughout the budget, with the cuts to pensions and to health, but education has been one of the biggest areas of concern that shows how out of touch the government is about being able to providing for people, particularly younger people, right across the country.

Contrast all of that with what Labor did in government with our focus on education. I certainly saw that in my area, particularly through the Building the Education Revolution. More than $115 million was invested in 90 schools. We see every day what a positive benefit that has been to young people throughout the North Coast. In contrast, we are now seeing a government that is ripping away so much support for education and for funding.

Labor are supporting this bill, as I said. We have moved the second reading amendment which contains proposed changes that we think are particularly important, especially those that provide protection for school based apprentices. There is a growing interest in school based apprenticeships, which are being accessed by a lot of younger people and we want to make sure that protection is in place for them. That is why all of these proposals are very worthy ones. We have to have a fair and reasonable transition arrangement to make sure those apprentices are properly looked after. The adequate privacy provisions are also very important, given the large volumes of information. But what concerns us most is that the government are abolishing the Tools for Your Trade program. I think it was such a good program to have in place, so it is a real concern that that is happening. We will be supporting this bill, but these proposed changes are vitally important, particularly from the perspective of clear language relating to interest rates and the full liability for these loans. When it is much younger people who will be taking up these loans, it is very important that they are fully aware of the ramifications of what they are signing up for. That is why I am focusing on the importance of the proposed amendment to this bill.

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