Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I want to briefly respond to the members who have contributed to this discussion around the amendment that's been moved by the government as a result of discussions with the members for Indi, Kennedy and Goldstein and others, and senators as well.

It is certainly, I think, an improvement to the bill. I want to make it clear the government did believe and has always believed that remote and regional Australia matters. But having it expressed in this way improves it and clarifies, if there was any clarification required, the intent of the government to ensure that we do things in a way that will provide support to communities beyond our major cities.

So too is the need to ensure that women have better opportunities. The engagement with the member for Goldstein was an important discussion. The member impressed upon the government that it would be good to make clear how important this vehicle would be in providing more opportunities for women in the workforce, for women wanting to increase their participation or gain access to participation in the labour market. That's an absolutely vital role for the government and, therefore, for Jobs and Skills Australia. Important too were the member for Kennedy's concerns about regional and remote Australia.

This amendment goes a long way to ensuring that the concerns of the members engaged with the government are met. We want to continue discussions not just on the full maturation of Jobs and Skills Australia but on these issues generally. We believe governments should play a more proactive role in providing opportunities, whether it's for prospective workers in a remote community or women who have found that there are too many impediments to accessing work that they merit. For that reason, we'll continue those discussions with subsequent policies. That will contribute, I believe, to improving both our economy and our inclusive approach to our society and labour market more generally.

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