Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Trade Support Loans Amendment Bill 2023. It's an important bill, because apprenticeships and traineeships provide hands-on training, equipping individuals with practical skills and knowledge that are essential for specific industries. By focusing on skills development, apprenticeships create a highly competent workforce that will meet the evolving needs of industry, fostering innovation and productivity. A skilled and adaptable workforce contributes to economic growth. By investing in apprenticeships and traineeships, Australia enhances its human capital, which in turn attracts investment, stimulates innovation and fosters business growth. This leads to increased productivity, improved competitiveness and a stronger economy overall. For these reasons, the coalition will be supporting this bill.

Essentially, this legislation amends the Trade Support Loans Act 2014 to expand the program, which is currently available only to apprentices in priority trade occupations. These reforms will mean the program will now be available to apprentices and trainees in a broad range of priority occupations, including non-trade occupations such as aged care, disability support and child care. The loans provided will empower these individuals to pursue their trade pathways without being hindered by financial constraints. Easing the burden of up-front costs will open doors to countless opportunities and foster a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

In true Labor style of renaming successful programs, this program will also be renamed 'Australian apprenticeship support loans'. The program aims to increase completion rates among Australian apprentices in priority areas by providing them with financial support for their cost of living and learning while undertaking an apprenticeship. This is achieved by offering concessional income-contingent loans, up to a maximum of $22,890, which are paid back when the taxable income of the apprentice reaches the repayment threshold. For the 2022-23 income year the compulsory repayment threshold is $48,361. These are sensible reforms which the coalition developed while in government.

This legislation will amend the act to empower the minister to determine, having had regard to any relevant advice given to the minister by Jobs and Skills Australia, a new Australian apprenticeships priority list. And it amends the act to provide that a qualifying apprenticeship is, among other things, an apprenticeship through which a person is undertaking a qualification that leads to an occupational qualification specified on the Australian apprenticeships priority list. These changes will mean that the skills minister can expand the program's access to people who, through their apprenticeship or traineeship, are undertaking qualifications that lead to occupations experiencing skills shortages, such as occupations in the aged-care, disability care and childcare sectors. These are sensible changes to align apprenticeships with industries where more workers are needed.

Like many Australians, apprentices and trainees are doing it tough right now. The prices for their groceries, their fuel and their electricity are all going up but their wages aren't. Enabling more students to access this support will be critical to more apprentices completing their studies. Despite what those opposite like to claim, the Liberals and Nationals invested record amounts into the Australian skills system, which delivered the highest number of apprentices on record. During the pandemic, the coalition ensured apprentices were protected with a wage subsidy measure and supported jobseekers and young people to get skills in the jobs of the future with low or fee-free training through the $2.1 billion JobTrainer Fund. JobTrainer created around 478,000 training places in areas of skills need, including 48,000 places in aged-care training.

The coalition committed over $13 billion to the skills sector, since the pandemic began, including a record $7.8 billion in their final financial year in office. We saved more than 530,000 apprentices and trainees through our wage subsidies, announced when the pandemic hit, with total pandemic apprentice wage subsidy support reaching over $7.9 billion.

I was fortunate recently to visit Yarra Ranges Tech, a great institution based in Lilydale, out in the Yarra Valley. They support trainees, working with schools and those who the traditional school system doesn't work for. They bring them into that system. They have a wonderful Taster program, where students spend the first year trying different trades and things, like cooking. I saw those young people and spoke to them. For them to be able to find a real passion and dignity of work through those trainee programs is really important. That's why we need to continue supporting apprentices. There's an impact on the individual, society and, ultimately, the economy.

The previous coalition government invested a further $2.4 billion from 1 July 2022 to upskill apprentices in a streamlined new Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System. The new approach focused on boosting completions, to get more apprentices through their studies and into the workforce. This put in place subsidies for employers of 10 per cent in the first two years of hiring a new apprentice and a further five per cent in the third year. Apprentices also received up to $5,000 in direct support payments to help them with the cost-of-living challenges.

We supported small businesses, to invest in the skills of their employees and train new ones, through the Skills and Training Boost. We established the National Skills Commission to provide expert advice and national leadership on the labour market, current and future skills needs and workforce development. We also secured agreement with the states and territories to overhaul Australia's VET system. The reforms were aimed at ensuring courses and qualifications were driven by and better met the needs of industry and students.

It's so important to always connect what businesses need with what apprentices need. That is what this bill does and is why it has bipartisan support. On this side of the House we value and acknowledge the crucial role that apprentices play in Australia's economy, contributing significantly to its growth, productivity and competitiveness.

My electorate of Casey is unique. It starts from the end of the suburban Melbourne fringe and goes into the Yarra Valley with its many farmers. Master Builders Australia has Casey as the highest electorate, as a percentage of workforce, for trades. We have a lot of tradies but we also have a lot of nurses, aged-care workers and early childhood workers, so we know firsthand the opportunities that come. We also have a strong agricultural and horticultural industry. Being able to connect apprenticeships, particularly for horticulture, and showing young people the opportunities there is so important.

These young people are really the backbone of the economy, out in Casey, and we're creating opportunities for them. I recently announced the 2023 Casey Apprentice and Trainee Awards. We're calling for nominations of diligent and hardworking people in Casey. Our local apprentices and trainees will be the backbone of our trades, small businesses, childcare and aged-care sectors into the future. It is so important that we recognise these young Australians working so hard to make a better life for themselves and their families. So if you know someone who you think is a great apprentice, please nominate them via my website. It could be any workmates, employees, friends or your own children or grandkids you think deserve recognition. It's so important that we recognise these young people who are doing great work in our community.

As I said, agriculture is a big part of the Yarra Valley and a big employer of apprentices in our community, and it would be remiss of me, as we speak about agriculture, not to take a moment to pay tribute to Gordon Chapman—an amazing person from the Yarra Valley who, sadly, passed away last week. He was known to many. Gordon was an institution in the farming community in the Yarra Valley. He was a trailblazer of his time, having introduced the concept of a 'U-pick' farm to Australia after visiting the USA in the 1970s. Gordon ran Chappies U-pick, growing raspberries, blackberries and cherries among other fruit. He leaves a legacy in the Yarra Valley as a well-respected, hard-working, giving and valued member of our community, particularly in the communities of Wandin and Silvan.

Gordon and his family made a significant contribution to our community, including through his involvement with the Mont De Lancey homestead. I was very fortunate to catch up with Gordon at the 30th anniversary for Mont De Lancey just three or four weeks ago, and he was in fine spirits, cracking jokes, having a laugh and owning the room as only Gordon Chapman could. It was wonderful that I got some time with him there and also on Anzac Day when, despite being aged in his 90s, he was able to attend the Wandin ceremony. It was wonderful to see him. He was also a stalwart of the Liberal Party, having been a member since 1969. He provided me with great support and friendship through all my time in the Liberal Party since I joined as a volunteer over a decade ago. There was always a kind word. He knew my family, who are also in farming, for decades, so it was wonderful to have his support as I joined the party and during my journey to becoming the member for Casey. I send my love and support to his family, who I know are doing it tough, but we take comfort that Gordon is now with his beloved wife, Linda. Rest in peace, Chappie. I'll miss your counsel, your frank advice and your sense of humour.

Some stakeholders have raised concerns about the consultation process which the minister's office conducted in regard to the bill. However, they remain broadly supportive of the passage of the legislation. Stakeholders have noted that the minister's office did no external consultation whatsoever. Indeed, the government's explanatory memorandum seems to admit that they did no further consultation and have broadly accepted the coalition's reforms without amendment—except for the obligatory name change, as with all good legislation from this government that is based on the great work of the coalition. If you don't change the name, you can't take credit for the work of the previous government. So I am grateful for the government's acknowledgement that our skills policies were working, and, as I said, the government must think so considering they have taken our policy and decided it was so good that no further consultation was necessary. They were able to do that because of our extraordinary work in the skills and VET space. This is a strong record to stand on, as Labor seems to be doing, and we will support them, as we are with this legislation, when they bring good policy forward.

It is so important for the individual that we support apprentices, because a job for a young person provides so much more than a wage. They develop so many of the life skills that will set them up for success. It's really important that we acknowledge that, while there's a lot of conversation about higher education—and higher education is important; we need to continue to support it—it's not for everyone. Apprenticeships are a way for those who aren't suited to higher education to have an opportunity to learn, grow, develop and become great members of our society. Apprentices and trainees are vital to Australia's economy due to their role in developing skills, ensuring a supply of skilled workers, staying relevant to industry needs, providing career pathways, driving economic growth and delivering social benefits. Investing in these programs is investment not only in the individual but also in the nation's future prosperity as a society and in ensuring we have a strong economy moving forward. So I commend this bill to the House.

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