Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I rise with great pleasure to speak to the Jobs and Skills Australia Bill 2022 and the Jobs and Skills Australia (National Skills Commissioner Repeal) Bill 2022. I really wanted to speak to this important bill. It establishes the future for Australia. It is seminal. It is a linchpin in the infrastructure for the future of a highly skilled, highly productive workforce and, thereby, economy.

I'd like to congratulate the Minister for Skills and Training, my good friend the member for Gorton. He is, indeed, a friend to workers, to small business and large corporations alike. He's an asset to this new government, and he gets the benefits of tripartism upon which the new Jobs and Skills Australia will operate. The issue of tripartism is one lost—completely lost—on the previous government. They have no idea what it means, its benefits; they are blind to the way the world has benefited from tripartism.

At the ACTU, when I was president for over nine years, I was lucky enough to represent Australia at the International Labour Organization, the ILO. It's an international body that has operated on this basis to create international standards for the world of work. They create amazingly complex legal instruments that manage to set out basic principles for rights at work. Australia, of course, is a signatory to many of the standards and conventions created through true dialogue, true debate, that operates between unions, employers and governments. These are the bodies that make up tripartite outcomes.

My experience was amazing, and I am forever grateful for having had the experience of representing the trade union movement in Australia at the ILO. In the time that I was there some emerging conventions were forged. One that stands out for me is the forced labour or anti-slavery convention. Australia is a signatory to this convention, one that I am amazed to say the previous government signed to. There are conventions for child labour and conventions for the prevention of violence and harassment at work. This is a particular one that I am very proud of, because I was there working very closely with my friends at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Australian government, where we led the debate to include the employer's role in helping deal with domestic violence.

Our role in that was a great example of tripartism. Australia led the way in a tripartite manner. We now have paid family and domestic violence leave for all workers across this country. We created core standards, like the right to freely organise, that states that workers should be able to join unions without fear. And, more recently, the ILO has developed the rights of health workers in a pandemic. There are hundreds of conventions, protocols and guidelines.

The process was an amazing thing to be a part of. Union and workers' representatives from right around the world would meet with governments from right around the world, and, of course, employers—large employers in corporations, smaller employer groups and employer representatives. Every interest was recognised—core outcomes. But we all really came together to find common ground where we knew we could work to make sure workers were protected and businesses prospered. Often than not, we were not far apart. Often than not, it was easy to come to an outcome—like at the recent Jobs and Skills Summit, where all interests were recognised and where great outcomes were achieved. Sometimes it wasn't so easy. Sometimes we worked late into the night and even early mornings to get consensus, but we always got there.

In my time at the ILO, I learned about the way many European and other countries held tripartite negotiations in their own economies. I was lucky enough to meet and chat with the former Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. Angela Merkel is considered, in Germany, to be a conservative, and I remember thinking to myself at the time, 'I would really love to meet a progressive if she is a conservative.' She was the leader of a country that values tripartism. We spoke about workers' councils in workplaces, which are commonplace all over the German economy, where employees and unions meet regularly with their employers. They saw issues out at the workplace. I spoke with her at the time that she was establishing a minimum wage panel based on Australia's tripartite model. She was very impressed with our model. I spoke with her about the importance of how her government—she told me her government actually funds unions and employer bodies to negotiate in good faith. Imagine that! They are funded to go about doing their job without fear or favour.

Germany is a high-wage, highly productive economy. I spoke to Angela Merkel about how she managed to maintain a robust manufacturing sector that is highly competitive and highly efficient, but is highly paid. Workers get decent wages. Her answer was simple. She said she invests in a skilled workforce and in innovation through universities and industry research. She makes sure there is accessible quality education, both vocational and university based, keeping one step ahead of the game. She said it's important to listen to and value a highly skilled workforce. All these things together keep the economy, particularly the manufacturing sector, moving ahead.

Angela Merkel also said to me that she used to hold Australia in high regard, setting the standard for giving workers a voice alongside employers and the states. She said, 'It doesn't seem to be like that anymore.' She actually asked me why Australia had gone backwards with respect to tripartism and workers' rights. Well, the answer was simple: the previous government, the LNP, did not value unions and did not value members. They were more interested in doing the bidding of big corporations and big business. We are all wondering why we have stagnant wage growth, why we have low productivity, why the workers' share of national income in this country is at a decades-low level, why productivity is sluggish. An important part of improving productivity is having an engaged, well-paid, secure and respected workforce. Including workers' voices at every level of the economy, including at the highest level, is an important part of achieving that. It is absolutely just as important as hearing from employers, hearing from training providers in the area of skills provision and hearing from state and territory governments.

Labor is getting on with the job of making this country better for everyone, leaving no-one behind. We won't lock anyone out. The previous government ignored workers and actively had policies to keep wages low, to shut workers out. On the back of the Jobs and Skills Summit we are putting in place the necessary changes that will move this country ahead, taking everyone with us. We have plans on every front, including this bill establishing Jobs and Skills Australia as an incredibly important part of the future—an independent agency that will provide advice to the government on Australia's current, emerging and future labour markets. It will provide advice on the necessary workforce skills and training. The body will work closely with state and territory governments, with industry employers, with unions and with providers to ensure a shared understanding of the key issues facing Australia's labour market.

It will examine the VET system and recommend changes that will make sure the system is fit for purpose and delivers for our workers, giving them the skills that are in demand and ensuring good, decent jobs—jobs for our industries that are desperate for skilled workers. The previous government cut around $3 billion from the VET sector. It was not focused on the areas where shortages exist. It's clear that urgent action is needed to address the skill shortages and to match participation in training with the types of skills in demand right now and, of course, those that will be demanded in the future.

Jobs and Skills Australia will focus on the whole labour market. It will be driven by actual data and proper analysis, with real-time workforce forecasting. It will examine the needs of emerging industries so that we aren't left scrambling to keep up with industrial advancements. It will ensure that our regions are part of any plan. It will consult with the public and keep them up to date with its important work. This is just the beginning of our commitments in the jobs and skills area.

It will stand alongside the Australian Skills Guarantee, which will train thousands of workers by ensuring one in 10 workers on major federally funded government projects is an apprentice, trainee or cadet. We will deliver 465,000 fee-free TAFE places, including 45,000 new places for students studying in industries that were affected by COVID-19, industries of national importance and industries facing skills shortages. It will especially target school leavers, workers wanting to retrain or upskill, and unpaid carers, who are predominantly women, to get back into the workforce. It will ensure that at least 70 per cent of Commonwealth VET funding is for public TAFE. I take this opportunity to thank TAFE teachers, who have stuck at it through really hard times, particularly the Melbourne Polytechnic, which offers great service to my electorate.

The TAFE Technology Fund will exist to improve IT facilities, workshops, laboratories and telehealth simulators right across the country. Our Future Made in Australia Skills Plan also has TAFE commitments. These are made as part of the government's $1.2 billion Future Made in Australia Skills Plan to focus on closing the gap in key areas of skill shortages.

We will have new energy apprenticeships that will encourage Australians to train in the new energy jobs of the future and provide the additional support they need to complete their training. There will be a New Energy Skills Program that will, in partnership with the states and territories, industries and unions, develop fit-for-purpose training pathways for new energy industry jobs. As part of this program we will establish mentors—experienced workers in new energy industries will help train and support new apprentices. In conjunction with this program we'll support the government's agenda to prioritise growth and investment in the renewable energy sector as part of the Powering Australia plan.

And we will develop, certainly on the back of the Jobs and Skills Summit, a full employment white paper. This will be informed by, as I said, the job summit outcomes. It will investigate and report back on issues, such as how we can best prepare Australians for jobs of the future, how we can improve the quality of work, how we train workers up over a lifetime and how we tackle issues of unemployment, casualisation, job insecurity, long-term unemployment and stagnant wages. It will help people with a disability engage in the workforce. It will listen and deliver for First Nations communities. Importantly, it is the beginning of us establishing how we make sure that any Australian who needs a job can get a job.

I'm excited by this legislation. It is just the beginning. It is setting up the infrastructure that will ensure a fantastic future for our country, one set by all parties in a true sense of tripartism that means everybody owns it, everybody shared in its development and everyone will want it to succeed. That is how you do inclusive government.

See this speech in context