Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr Speaker. I was interrupted when I was speaking about older workers retraining. When people lose their jobs, you can either leave them behind or you can give them a helping hand to retrain for jobs as our economy changes. That's why this is so important. It is a waste to waste the experience of those workers when, for example, the car industry was shut down, because those opposite told them to leave from this dispatch box. We think those people should not be left behind. I'll tell you what's a waste as well. It's a waste when housing projects can't get off the ground because there aren't the skilled workers to deal with them. It's a waste when businesses have to look overseas. A number of business leaders have lobbied to have imported labour because we can't provide the skilled workers here. What we're about is matching up the jobs of the future with the skills and training of today and the future. That's the right thing to do, and it is astonishing that those opposite don't get it.

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