Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the parliamentary secretary for this opportunity. As a former electrician—and a currently qualified tradesperson—and a person who used to own and operate a registered training organisation in the VET sector, I wholeheartedly support the Trade Support Loans Bill.

I would like to give some practical examples of what it is like to be an apprentice. An apprentice is someone who does not earn a great deal of money and who has to get to the end of four years. It is relatively difficult. Some time has passed since I was an apprentice. Back in the days when I first started, they had this wonderful thing, which I did not know existed, which was a nine-day fortnight. On the four-day week you would get a day's less pay than on a five-day week. And as a first-year apprentice that meant $60 week for me and up to about $78 on a long week. Fortunately, many apprentices—including me—still lived at home. My mother suggested that I pay board of $20 a week. I thought that was reasonable contribution. That left $20 for fuel and a little bit left over if I wanted to go and have a look around on the weekend.

When I got to second year my pay rose and my board moved proportionally, which was a little bit of a shock to me as a second-year apprentice. However, it really did not hurt me. It was a great opportunity. Today, young people still find it financially difficult to undertake a trade. The award wage for a first-year apprentice is currently 55 per cent of the fully-qualified rate. We must recognise the significant contribution that trades workers make to economic growth in Australia.

The purpose of this bill—and a lot of the points in this debate reflect this—is about balance. We do not need a nation of university graduates. I am a university graduate. It was a wonderful opportunity and it has certainly been helpful in terms of my career and other opportunities but I would have been quite happy to be an electrician. Certainly, we need more tradespeople. We need balance in our workforce and we need skilled tradespeople to do the work which is coming up in the next few years, particularly with the infrastructure Prime Minister's plans.

So, from 1 July the coalition will provide an estimated $1.9 billion in loans over the next four years to people who are undertaking a priority trade. I will tell you why it is important. There is an organisation in my electorate called Geoff Hall Projects. Geoff started off as a single tradesperson and he built a business over many years, starting in the mid-eighties. He is a gentleman I know well. Like all contracting businesses, Geoff has had his ups and downs, and he has certainly had some challenges. But in the time between 1986 and now he has trained 39 electrical tradespeople in his small to medium enterprise. And he provided other opportunities such as cabinetmaking and those sorts of things.

Geoff rang me a few weeks ago and he was devastated. He said, basically, that he will not train another apprentice—it is as simple as that—because there is far too much red and green tape. It is just too difficult. The rates are so hard that it is difficult for them to be competitive. He was very disappointed that he has now lost something that has endured for so long. I think it is fantastic that he has trained 39 tradespeople in his small to medium enterprise in regional Queensland.

And he is not alone. I have spoken to a number of other local small businesses—they have one or two employees—who would usually train one apprentice every four years. They will not continue to do that. So we need to make these changes. It is important that we make apprenticeships financially viable so that apprentices get through to the end of their time, because we are losing 50 per cent of people who start their journey on an apprenticeship. Fifty per cent do not complete. That is simply not acceptable to me.

It is important that people taking out a trade support loan have choice. That is important because each trade is different. Compare a gyprocker to someone who is a diesel fitter, for example. A diesel fitter needs tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools to be effective. If, for example, they are going to work in the mining industry at the end of their apprenticeships they will need that equipment. This is an opportunity for those people to build up their tools over a period of four years at a very competitive rate. It is only going to increase with CPI. Once again, if I could go back to being a younger, smarter self and I had this opportunity, I would say take the money because it is a great opportunity. To be able to kit yourself out—to be ready for the end of your time—is a wonderful opportunity that is being provided by the taxpayer. We should not forget that it is being provided by the taxpayer. As a young apprentice, quite simply I had to borrow those tools. As anyone in this room who knows tradespeople knows, they will tell you they are the things that are almost as precious to them as their children. So I thank the people I used to work with; it was great that they gave me the opportunity.

This bill is important for Australian training. It is important for Australian apprentices and it is one I wholeheartedly support.

See this speech in context