Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Skills) Share this | Hansard source

Well, wasn't this budget the most Morrison budget going around! In terms of the critically important skills sector, it was all headline and no follow-through. We saw the big, splashy headline 'JobMaker and JobTrainer saves the day', and photos of the Prime Minister in hard hat and hi-vis vest, but then the detail slowly drips out and it turns out the policy has far more bark than bite. Don't get me wrong, after spending seven years creating a tradie crisis in Australia we would welcome the Liberals cleaning up some of their mess. Since COVID-19 hit, the need for help has been more urgent than ever. Many apprentices lost work because of the Prime Minister's slow response to COVID-19, and the number of people starting apprenticeships and traineeships this year is down by 22 per cent. The Liberals promised an extra 300,000 apprentices and trainees, yet the reality is that more than 140,000 apprentices and trainees have been lost on their watch. Let's see if Scott Morrison actually delivers anything.

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