Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Free TAFE Bill because I know that TAFE changes lives. TAFE is the beating heart of Australia's vocational education and skills training. Its importance cannot be overstated. It is a powerhouse of opportunity, equipping millions of Australians with the practical skills and qualifications that they need to thrive in the workforce. For the nation, TAFE creates a highly skilled population, making an invaluable contribution to our nation's economy and society. In a world that is rapidly changing, with new technologies reshaping industries, our TAFE system is critical. It equips Australians with the expertise and adaptability to meet the challenges of the future head on. Whether it's training our healthcare workers, electricians, mechanics, hospitality staff or IT professionals, TAFE creates the skilled workforce that keeps our country running and competitive on the global stage.

This bill expands our government's commitment to the skills sector. It is transformational. It will support the delivery of at least 100,000 full-time places across Australia each year from 2027, when the current fee-free TAFE agreement ends. It cements TAFE at the heart of the vocational education and training sector. Its practical impact is profound. It removes financial barriers to education and training, particularly for those experiencing economic disadvantage. It targets areas of high workforce demand, emerging skills needs and national and state or territory priorities.

Since we introduced fee-free TAFE 18 months ago, we've seen 508,000 enrolments in the program. This is a testament to its popularity, necessity and success. Ongoing fee-free TAFE will offer greater certainty to students, employers and industry, as well as the states and territories. At a time when cost-of-living pressures are real for so many Australians, this bill provides relief by removing the financial barriers that prevent people from accessing education and training. Fee-free TAFE is popular. Fee-free TAFE is working. And, under Labor, fee-free TAFE will continue.

A few weeks ago, the Minister for Skills and Training and I visited the Canberra Institute of Technology, CIT, campus in Bruce, here in my electorate of Canberra. We met nursing and early childhood education students benefiting from their fee-free courses. Their passion for learning and their excitement for their future careers was truly inspiring. The difference fee-free TAFE has made to them is incredible, and we're making the decision that this will continue for the long term. We met a refugee from Afghanistan who was building a new life through TAFE. We heard from a Navy veteran who was retraining for a civilian career. We spoke with young Australians brimming with optimism about their future. This is what fee-free TAFE is about.

I just want to take this moment to talk a little bit about CIT here in Canberra. Last year, CIT marked 95 years of education in our city. It was founded in 1928 as the Telopea Park technical trades school and, at the time, was opened by the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce. Today, almost a century on, CIT spans five campuses, is the peak public vocational education and training provider in the ACT and educates around 20,000 students every year. With two Labor governments, both here in this place and in the territory, it is an exciting time to be involved in vocational education and training.

When we came to government, we acted fast to implement the landmark 12-month skills agreement. The ACT government was quick to sign on, leading to an injection of more than $16.5 million into the ACT skills and training sector. This initially supported more than 2,500 fee-free TAFE places at CIT. Another 4,400 students enrolled in these fee-free courses in the last financial year, with almost another 4,000 places available in the next few years, when the measures proposed in the bill would take effect. That represents an additional $8.86 million from 2024 to 2026. I am genuinely so proud of the huge take-up of fee-free TAFE in my electorate. For the students, this represents savings of thousands of dollars every year, along with lifelong skills which will set them up for the future.

I was also incredibly proud to stand alongside the former minister for skills, the member for Gorton, Brendan O'Connor, and ACT Minister Chris Steel to announce, at CIT, the first TAFE centre of excellence in the country. This centre of excellence is for electric vehicles and is already providing world-class training for the EV jobs of the future. This is building on the existing success of CIT's electrical vehicle training hub at the Fyshwick campus here in my electorate.

As the take-up of EVs increases, it's so important that we have the workforce that is able to service and maintain them. The Canberra TAFE centre of excellence at CIT is educating that workforce right now, providing fantastic skills training right here in Canberra thanks to the Albanese government's commitment to skills and training. This TAFE centre of excellence at CIT in Canberra is bringing in students from all around the country who want to take advantage of this incredible training hub for those jobs of the future in electric vehicles.

What is interesting and disappointing, although not surprising, is the reaction to this bill from those opposite. It's hardly a shock that they're opposing this bill; it is literally all they do in this place. They genuinely must be the least constructive opposition in history. You would think, though, on a bill that would make vocational education accessible to more Australians that they might take a different approach. The coalition love to pretend they're on the side of tradies, and they love to pretend that they're here to fight for battlers, but, when push comes to shove, they revert to type and act as a blocker to the economic prosperity, education and life-changing impacts of Australians who have benefited from the policies of the Albanese Labor government.

The deputy leader of the Liberal Party called investment in our TAFE sector 'wasteful spending'. I wonder if she would be so bold as to say that to the faces of the hundreds of thousands of students enrolled in one of these popular courses in the incredibly important skills areas for our economy. I wonder if she would say that to the educators, the councils or the communities that TAFEs support around the nation. But it is true to form, given the decade of neglect, cuts and indifference to TAFE that the Liberals presided over.

Something I wasn't expecting, though, was the mental gymnastics that some of those opposite would perform to mock and criticise my constituents in order to oppose the bill. I happened to catch some of the member for Nicholls's contribution on this bill. He said that Canberra is a taxpayer funded region and that people here are paid for by his constituents. He said that his constituents make their own money through their efforts, whereas mine apparently don't. I would never attack the member for Nicholls's constituents, but, unfortunately, this is something I see all the time as the member for Canberra, particularly from those opposite. It's somehow an attack on government because public servants live here and because we are the nation's capital and it's a pretty easy win to criticise our city and our community.

I'm very proud of what is happening with TAFE, or CIT as it's known in Canberra, and the huge take-up that we have seen in this city around our fee-free TAFE. That will be continuing because TAFE breaks down barriers. Whether you're from rural or regional Australia, whether you're looking to retrain after a job loss or whether you're a school leaver who might not see university as the right fit for you, TAFE offers you a path to success. It empowers women, people with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to fully participate in the economy. The Australian economy relies on skilled workers. From the construction industry to renewable energy, from aged care to advanced manufacturing, so many industries are powered by people who have honed their craft through vocational training.

Investing in TAFE is not just about investing in education; it's about investing in Australia's future economic prosperity. Every dollar spent on skills training has a multiplier effect, boosting productivity, innovation and competitiveness. By expanding our commitment to fee-free TAFE, we're addressing skills shortages. By expanding funding, improving facilities and supporting Australians undertaking their apprenticeships, we can fill critical gaps in industries like nursing, early childhood education, engineering and green energy. TAFE graduates are job ready from day one, capable of meeting the demands of the workforce with hands-on experience and practical know-how. Labor backs them, Labor backs opportunity, Labor backs our skills sector and Labor backs TAFE—including our CIT here in Canberra.

As I said, it was truly wonderful to meet some students when I visited CIT in Bruce a few weeks ago with the Minister for Skills and Training to hear about the difference fee-free TAFE was making to them. As I mentioned, one woman we met was a refugee from Afghanistan undertaking a degree in early childhood education. We saw how she was able to work in the community in this in-demand area. Again, Labor has supported recognition and a proper pay rise for these highly skilled and dedicated early childhood educators, which is long overdue. As a mother with children in early childhood education, I am in awe of the job they do every day. This enabled her to undertake that important education and to pursue a career in that area. Another woman we met was a refugee from Sudan who was also undertaking an early childhood education degree.

We also met some nursing students. One was a former Navy officer wanting to retrain in nursing. The fee-free TAFE had made that a reality for her. As a single parent, not having to pay those fees was really helpful for her to be able to undertake that degree. It was really inspiring to meet with some of the teachers at the Bruce campus of CIT as well and hear about the great opportunities for education there, the equipment used to teach nursing. It was all very good to see that we are getting behind these important educational institutions.

I also had the pleasure to several times visit the electric vehicle training hub at the Fyshwick campus of CIT and talk to mechanics who were training in electric vehicles and hear in particular about the safety element. As we see more and more electric vehicles on the road, we will need to have people trained in how to deal with accidents or malfunctions, as well as mechanics to service and repair those vehicles, including heavy vehicles. We met a mixture of students there, some young people beginning in these areas that they were so passionate about, and established mechanics learning these new skills as our economy transitions towards more electric vehicles being sold. The ACT has some of the highest take-up of electric vehicles in the country, so it is fitting that we have this hub here. As I said, it is building on what our wonderful CIT, the Canberra Institute of Technology, was already doing. I was proud that the Albanese Labor government chose for this to be the first national TAFE centre of excellence in the country—right here in Canberra.

I'm really proud that our government is backing TAFE, including CIT here in Canberra. I know that fee-free TAFE will change so many lives, enabling people who may not have been able to afford these opportunities to undertake them. That is the transformative power of education, and Labor will always want to make it as accessible as we can to everyone. This is what fee-free TAFE is about, and I'm really pleased it would continue under a re-elected Labor government.

I want to take this quick opportunity to acknowledge the incredible work of the member for Gorton, the former minister for skills, who began work on fee-free TAFE when he was minister and delivered it. He has made such an incredible contribution to this parliament and will be much missed, as he is retiring at the next election.

House adjourned at 20:14

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mrs Archer ) took the chair at 10:29.

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