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

I thank the member for Holt for her question and her very strong support for the VET sector in her electorate and across the country. The government inherited a very significant skills shortage—in fact, arguably, the worst in 50 years. We've moved quickly to invest wisely in education and training to ensure we supply skills and knowledge in areas of existing and future demand.

One of the most effective means to date to achieve this end has been the remarkable take-up of fee-free TAFE places that focus on skills-shortage areas. These include occupations in the care economy, the IT sector, traditional trades and the energy sector—just to name a few—going through such a significant transition. I'm pleased to inform the House that 350,000 Australians have now enrolled in these fee-free TAFE courses, which is almost double the target we set ourselves after the Jobs and Skills Summit.

These courses are providing skills to workers. Like any good government policy, it serves more than one end and it benefits many. It removes cost barriers to much needed skills for students, trainees, apprentices and workers. It also provides a pipeline of skills to businesses and the labour market more broadly. In doing so, it provides more carers to care for older Australians and provides more electricians to help with the transition of the energy sector.

These workers—in fact all 13.6 million taxpayers—will be getting a tax cut on 1 July because of the actions of this Prime Minister and the government. Remarkably, 84 per cent of these taxpayers will be better off than they would have been under the Liberal plan. What we're seeing here with the rise of real wages with workers in this country earning more and keeping more of what they earn.

I'm asked about whether there have been responses to this. By way of contrast, the opposition leader has no plan, no policy and not even a thought bubble when it comes to addressing cost-of-living pressures in this country. He doesn't support cheaper medicines, doesn't support cheaper child care and doesn't support fee-free TAFE. In fact, he may well have voted in favour of the tax plan, but he has, as we know, spoken against Labor's tax plan. He does not support these things. This is an opposition that is carping and whingeing and has no plans for Australia's future, no plans to supply the skills to workers, no plans to supply the skills to businesses and more broadly no plans to provide the skills and knowledge to our economy.

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