Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

COKER () (): Free TAFE changes lives. It's a foundation for opportunity for many Australians—for young people, for women, for thousands of people across Australia who want well-paid and secure work in sectors where we have worker shortages. Our government recognises this and understands the crucial role that this sector will play in building Australia's future. That's why I stand today to support the Free TAFE Bill 2024, a bill that will ensure that free TAFE becomes permanent.

I stand on behalf of many Australians—thousands of TAFE students, school leavers and everyday people—who want a career change. I stand on behalf of all those people across my electorate of Corangamite who value TAFE: people who want to build the houses we need, people who want to make more things here in Australia, people who want to care for our most vulnerable Australians or provide our youngest Australians with early-years education, people who support this reform, and people who have benefited from the extraordinary success of free TAFE in the last 18 months. We know that more than half a million Australians have embraced this opportunity, gaining the skills that they want in the areas we need, like nursing, manufacturing, the care sector and construction.

As the member for Corangamite, I certainly note that this legislation will strengthen Gordon TAFE in my electorate and its capacity to attract more students to our region and, in turn, support economic success for our region. The Gordon is playing an amazing role, offering opportunities for many people across our communities in the Bellarine, the Surf Coast and the Geelong region. It is an amazing organisation. It started in the 19th century and began because there was such a need for skills in our growing economy. Today, we're facing a similar challenge to broaden our skills base and expand our skilled workforce so that it can meet the needs of Australia and take us into the future as a strong economy.

To do that, we need to empower TAFE to do its job well. That means pursuing bold reforms like free TAFE, a reform that backs in TAFEs like the Gordon to grow our skills base. I would like to give a shout out to Gordon, which has gone from strength to strength, with now 13,000 students enrolled. It began with only 10 students all those years ago. There are many success stories that have come from Gordon TAFE. I met with a TAFE student yesterday here at parliament, Trey McAuley. He's a local apprentice carpenter and he is inspiring other apprentices and trainees to aim for the stars just like he has. Trey's apprenticeship and training at Gordon has led to an opportunity to represent Australia in the 47th WorldSkills International Championships in Lyon, France this year. Trey said that TAFE provided him with so many amazing opportunities, and he said:

…I love my job, and to think it began with a regional competition at The Gordon and led me to where I am now is exciting…My employer is another reason why working in the trade industry has been a great career choice. I'm committed to giving it my best.

That's what TAFE is all about, and free TAFE will mean this experience is available to so many more Australians who would otherwise miss out.

We do have a responsibility to help people here and now. That starts with education for all Australians, no matter their background or financial situation, so that no one is held back and no one is left behind. We believe in equal opportunity. By making TAFE free, we're removing the financial barriers to access and ensuring that everyone has a chance to pursue a career they love and achieve their potential. Importantly, we believe in investing in our people.

By investing in them, we're ensuring all Australians have the skills and capacity to contribute to a thriving economy. It's clear our whole nation benefits when we make it easier for people to access education. A fairer society benefits everyone. The long-term benefits of more skilled, productive workers will create economic growth that benefits all Australians.

The reality is that the cost of inaction is higher. Failing to invest in skilling up our people will leave businesses stranded, businesses who are still struggling from workforce shortages, workforce shortages that are a legacy of the former coalition government. We all remember how the Liberals presided over the second-biggest skills shortage in the OECD. Now in opposition they're refusing to back so many key reforms in skills and training: our additional free TAFE and VET places for construction, expanding access to new energy apprenticeships, expanding capacity for training facilities and a trainer workforce, support for women's careers in VET or increased financial supports to prioritise apprenticeships and employers. And still they failed to land a national agreement with states and territories to build Australia's skills base. In government, the Liberals cut $3 billion of funding from the VET system and TAFE. Instead of funding TAFEs and skilling Australians, the Liberal government paid celebrity tradie Scott Cam $345,000 for 15 months of work in 2020. The Leader of the Opposition hasn't said the word 'TAFE' in this place since 2004.

But what's absolutely extraordinary is that the Liberal Party opposed free TAFE. They want to slam the door on opportunity for future Australians. They want to deny people the opportunity that half a million people have already embraced. Why would they do this? The Deputy Leader of the Opposition has pulled back the curtain to reveal the flawed reasoning behind why they want to rip apart the TAFE sector. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition made some statements on this bill in the House that in my opinion were quite shocking. She said:

And remember this, and it's a key principle and tenet of the Liberal Party: if you don't pay for something, you don't value it.

She then went on to dig an even bigger hole and say:

So, if you're told that your TAFE is free and all you have to do is turn up—you actually have to do some work, and then you have to get a qualification at the end—and if that's all that it is but you haven't paid for it, you don't see it as something that makes a difference to you in your life; you don't see it as something valuable.

These comments do reflect so much about the Liberal Party's values or, in this case, the lack of them—that education and a pathway to rewarding work only exists for those that can afford it. And what would the deputy opposition leader say to the 500,000 recipients of free TAFE—that their skills are less valuable because they have received support? In stark contrast, the Labor government believes that Australians should have access to education and to accreditation, regardless of what's in your or your parents' bank accounts. I would urge those opposite, instead of bagging free TAFE, to get out there and talk to people who've benefited from the program. There are thousands of people right across our country and in my electorate of Corangamite who are so enthusiastic about this opportunity and the benefits it has brought to them and to our nation.

In closing, I'd like to draw the attention of the House to the comments made by the shadow spokesperson for education. The senator for Victoria said:

… there are people, employers everywhere, crying out for tradies, for workers that don't necessarily require university education.

What I'd say to the senator is this: you are correct; we need more tradies, and our tradies don't necessarily need university education. But they do need a TAFE qualification. But not all Australians who want to be a tradie can afford that qualification. And that's why free TAFE is important. That's why Labor is backing this reform.

Free TAFE is empowering people to pursue their dreams, to secure rewarding work, to get a decent pay packet and to contribute to Australia's productivity in sectors that need qualified workers. Free TAFE makes absolute sense, and I urge the opposition to join us in supporting this bill and all those who will benefit from it.

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