Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

That was a very interesting and not so insightful presentation from the member for Blair, who seems to have a very interesting take on history. I'm sure we can have a greater chat about that at the gym, perhaps, tomorrow morning!

I am very fortunate in my life. I have worked as a carpenter. I've been to TAFE. I was educated at Holmesglen college of TAFE. I was an apprentice carpenter, I became a carpenter and I then became a builder. I then went back and did a law degree and practised as a barrister for 16 years. So I've walked both sides of the fence: I've been to university, and I've been a white-collar worker and a blue-collar worker. There's no doubt that a quality education has the ability to change people's lives. There's absolutely no doubt about that.

Since I was elected in 2016 I have made it my mission to make Fisher, on the Sunshine Coast, the place to be for education, employment and retirement. I want to ensure that the many young families who move to the Sunshine Coast can give their kids a good education on the coast, can get a good job on the coast and, ultimately, can retire on the coast. The last thing parents wants to see is their kids having to move away from home to get a better job or to get an education. The ability for a regional area, like mine on the Sunshine Coast, to provide good education and good quality jobs is so incredibly important.

It's really interesting to sit here and listen to those opposite talk about how the coalition government, purportedly, ran down skills and education. When the member for Maribyrnong was involved in skills and training, apprenticeships were at an all-time low under those opposite—those who now profess to be gurus who will change the world.

When I think of skills and education, I think of groups on the Sunshine Coast like STEPS employment group. I think of STEPS Pathways College, that connect people who live with disabilities. They can get better training and go on and lead independent lives. I think of Your Employment Solutions, another organisation on the Sunshine Coast that works with young people who live with disabilities. I think of the Sunshine Coast trade and training technical college that's attached to the Caloundra high school. This is a college that gives young people an opportunity to learn a trade while they're at school.

These school based apprenticeships are unbelievably fantastic. It gives young people an opportunity to learn a trade whilst they're at school. We talk so much about the importance of tertiary education. Yes, tertiary education can be important, but we must never forget the importance of trades. If we, as a nation, continue to run down trades, as we have done over the last—certainly in the last iteration of the Labor government, that tried to push everybody into university.

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