Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

As a former rural health researcher, I know how crucial it is for policy to be rooted in sound logic and evidence. The establishment of a National Skills Commission is a first step towards ensuring future initiatives and reforms in the VET sector across Australia are based on the best available data and labour market analysis. It's on that basis that I welcome the introduction of the National Skills Commissioner Bill 2020.

As a former rural health researcher, I also know how often regional Australians are left out of the picture when it comes to data collection and analysis, and I'm afraid to say this bill has the same blind spot. I was pleased to hear the member for Dawson talking about outcomes, because it's outcomes that we are so interested in. It's why we're here, really. I guess it's important to say that, when we talk about outcomes, it mustn't be just in a speech. It's important that outcomes are set out in legislation.

The government has decided not to mention regional Australia in this bill, and, ultimately, that can leave regional Australia behind. This is despite specific recommendations in the Joyce review, which delivered its final report to the government last March, that this new National Skills Commission have a particular focus on regional skill and workforce development. The Joyce review confirmed what I see and hear every day across my electorate of Indi. The Joyce review found that VET providers in regional Australia 'have significant difficulty recruiting experienced trainers with relevant experience when compared to non-regional areas'. It found that regional employers and RTOs felt their local skill needs were being ignored in national qualifications and curricula and that their calls to make qualifications more region-friendly fell on deaf ears. It found that we need regional-level demand forecasts with direct inputs from local industries and local government to give regional Australia the best chance at ushering in new industries and growth.

Regional Australia cannot afford to start behind the eight ball once again. We already know VET enrolments are increasing faster in metro areas than in regional areas. The unemployment rate for people with a cert III or above is 3.9 per cent compared to 7.9 per cent for those without. With more skills and training we could start to tackle pockets of high unemployment right across regional Australia. The government's own analysis indicates that, if we halve the skills gap between metro and rural populations, it would increase GDP by 0.6 per cent or $11 billion per year. There is massive opportunity in regional skills that could be unlocked if we had the right data to back stronger policies.

The Napthine review found that the most important thing was increasing access to training for regional Australia. We need to create training opportunities in regional areas for regional areas, and we cannot do this without robust, targeted and reliable data. For example, the government estimates that the planned expansion of the NDIS will require another 90,000 disability workers—about double the size of the current workforce. Most of this will be in regional areas. The 2019 national mental health report tells us there is a critical shortage of qualified mental health workers in regional areas. For those of us who live in the regions, that is abundantly clear. As Australia inevitably shifts to renewable power stations across regional Australia, we'll need thousands of skilled technicians, electricians and construction workers to drive a multibillion dollar industry. We will fail those relying on us to meet this demand and seize these opportunities if we do not specifically task the National Skills Commission with collecting and analysing region-specific data.

While I'll acknowledge the willingness of the government and Minister Cash to speak with me about the importance of regional workforce development, I was disappointed to learn that the government will not include them in this bill, as recommended by the Joyce review. I will still call on those present to support a short amendment that has the potential to do so much for an electorate such as mine in Indi but also for regional electorates right across the nation, such as those represented by the member for Dawson and so many others here.

The purpose of this amendment will be very simple—to ensure this new National Skills Commission does not leave regional Australians behind.

See this speech in context