Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to rise this morning to speak on the motion moved by the amazing member for Holt, because, when it comes to skills and training, the approach between us and those opposite could not be any more different. Our government is rebuilding and modernising our skill sector to ensure a stronger and more resilient economy and to give more Australians the opportunity to access well-paid and secure jobs now and into the future. This is a stark difference to the decade of mess and mismanagement of those opposite, who inflicted cuts on TAFE, cuts on universities and led us into the skills shortage that we see in Australia here today. According to the OECD, Australia is experiencing the second-most severe Labor shortage in the developed world. The project of repair that needs to be undertaken in the skills and training sector is extensive, but this government isn't wasting a moment in seeking to repair and rebuild our vocational education and skills training system.

Last months budget invested $400 million to deliver an additional 300,000 fee-free TAFE and VET places, which is building on the 180,000 places we created in 2023, including 120,000 places in New South Wales, underpinning our commitment to affordable vocational education. We increased funding by an additional $54.3 million to critical Australian Apprenticeships supports to improve completion rates, including 3,265 apprentices currently training in my electorate of Cunningham. We're investing an additional $436 million over four years to fundamentally reform the way the Commonwealth delivers foundation skills programs as well as $8.6 million to deliver the Australian Skills Guarantee and introduce national targets for apprentices, trainees and paid cadets working on Australian government funded major infrastructure and ICT projects; $3.9 million in additional funding over four years to establish a defence vocational skills task force. to develop the workforce required to shape our sovereign industrial base and support the delivery of defence programs; and $42.2 million to develop a modern fit-for-purpose IT system for the VET Student Loan program. There has been a strong response from the community following these investments.

In the first quarter of 2023, the Albanese Labor government has supported almost 150,000 Australians to enrol in fee-free TAFE, with more than 65,000 of them from my home state of New South Wales. As of 1 June, in my electorate of Cunningham over 2,000 students were benefiting from fee-free TAFE places. More broadly, in New South Wales we have seen over 2,000 students enrolling in cert III in early childhood education and care, 1,500 enrolling in cert IV in training and assessment, close to 2,000 in cert IV in accounting and bookkeeping and cert III in individual support, and 225 enrolling in Diploma of Nursing.

This government's agenda is not just about making education and training more accessible; it's also about making it more affordable and reducing the cost-of-living pressures that are currently facing so many Australians. Under our plan, students undertaking a Diploma of Information Technology (Cyber Security) in New South Wales are up to $4,060 better off with fee-free TAFE. Students studying a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care are up to $4,970 better off with fee-free TAFE. Students studying a cert IV in ageing support are up to $2,320 better off with fee-free TAFE. Students studying a cert III in manufacturing technology are up to $5,750 better off with fee-free TAFE. These achievements have only been possible thanks to the tripartite and collaborative approach that the Commonwealth has taken with businesses, unions, and the states and territories, an approach which we saw at the Jobs and Skills Summit last year and a principle at the core of Jobs and Skills Australia.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Australian Education Union, the New South Wales Teachers Federation and the TAFE Teachers Association for their support and collaboration in making this policy a reality. I have stood with my good friend Rob Long at TAFE campuses all over New South Wales. I thank them for their advocacy and for fighting to ensure that all Australians have access to an affordable, world-class vocational education and skills system.

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