Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government is investing in young Aussies to give them the skills that they need, because we know that a strong vocational education and training sector is absolutely critical to ensuring that young Australians, certainly from the beautiful place that I represent in the Northern Territory—that young Territorians—get a secure, well paid job that fills the need in industry and throughout our society. What do we do? The Albanese Labor government is investing in the skills the Territory needs and that Australia needs by making fee-free TAFE permanent for young Territorians, for young Australians around the country and for those that just want to retrain, try something different or start another career. Not only is this helping to relieve cost-of-living pressures for those seeking to skill up or re-skill but it's also absolutely vital to building the Territory's future and to building our nation's future. The Albanese government is committed to investing in the skills that Australia needs to drive the economic growth that we need. Labor will leave no-one behind and hold no-one back as our economy transitions into the future. Our fee-free TAFE offerings span those high-priority areas, including health, construction, early childhood education, hospitality and tourism, and renewable energy.

With unemployment so low, having young Aussies skilled up in these areas is absolutely critical. We need more people on the tools and less people sitting around at home with nothing to do. We've still got four per cent unemployment. We'd like to see everyone have an opportunity at getting a good job. It's a critical measure for reducing economic barriers and for addressing intergenerational disadvantage around the country but particularly, when I think about intergenerational disadvantage, in the Territory. Over 800 students from priority cohorts, such as those on low incomes, First Nations students and women who want to have a go non-traditional industries, have already enrolled under fee-free TAFE because it helps by taking away that financial barrier. Ongoing free TAFE will offer greater certainty to students, to employers and to industry, as well as to the state and territory governments.

The Free TAFE Bill 2024 will establish ongoing cost-of-living relief by removing those financial barriers to education and training that I mentioned, particularly for groups that typically experience economic disadvantage. The bill also ensures that fee-free TAFE continues to deliver a coordinated response to those workforce shortages that we all know. We see them in some industries that are certainly local but also national priorities, and we'll help build the pipeline of skilled workers that Australia needs now and into the future. Labor's providing cost-of-living support for more Australians to access high-quality, affordable training through the measures that we've put in place, delivering the skills and training needed to grow the economy, building the extra homes that we need, creating a future made in Australia, ensuring all Australians can get quality care as they age—and, when they need care, through a good health system—and building the capabilities, which are increasingly technical in nature, that our Australian Defence Force needs.

As co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of AUKUS, I speak to many stakeholders involved in the national endeavour that is AUKUS with our partners in the US and the UK. I know that we need young Australians with the skills required to deliver AUKUS. It's not just going to happen automatically. We need a pipeline of skilled young Australians. Our fee-free TAFE will deliver these skills that we desperately need to build this massive workforce.

Last year the member for Spence and I visited the team at BAE in his electorate in South Australia and spoke to some of the young apprentices there. What really hit home for me was that these young Australians are delivering our future ADF capabilities. Up in my electorate, in the Territory, we are training and developing a workforce that is equipped with practical skills essential for not only a growing defence sector but also the net zero transformation that our nation has embarked upon.

I acknowledge the work of Professor Suresh Thennadil and his team at REMHART, down at East Arm in Darwin. We plan to develop a renewable energy centre of excellence at CDU that brings together CDU, industry and unions, such as the Electrical Trades Union, in a powerful collaboration—pardon the pun there, Deputy Speaker Freelander—to drive skilled jobs across the Territory. One thing the Territory has got is a lot of space and a lot of sunshine, so we are going to convert that Territory sunshine into electrons for the renewable energy that we'll need to power an increasing industrial footprint on the ground in the Northern Territory. Working with industry and working with Charles Darwin University, we will make that a reality.

This is absolutely vital to transform the Territory into a clean energy powerhouse and to provide projects like SunCable with the skilled Territorians that they need to deliver renewable energy for Australia and the world, such as our partners in Indo-Pacific nations like Singapore.

The reality is you can't have a strong VET sector without strong public TAFE at its heart, and the Labor government will never consider that free TAFE is, to quote the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, 'wasteful spending'. Someone who calls fee-free TAFE 'wasteful spending' is obviously from a background of significant means and doesn't understand the transformational power of education and trade training for young Australians—in particular, those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Those opposite obviously haven't picked up that our government is tackling the cost of living robustly every day. By the way, every time we've put in a measure to help Australians with the cost of living, those opposite have voted against it.

Young people doing an apprenticeship, doing some trade training, can often find it difficult to make ends meet. I'll put a quick add-in for parents or grandparents who are listening. If your children or grandchildren are interested in doing a trade, know that we are backing them. The federal Labor Albanese government is backing your sons and daughters, in that we'll be giving some additional financial assistance to apprentices as they go through their training, after six months, 12 months, 18 months et cetera, to help with those cost-of-living challenges. We know that we have a responsibility to help people here and now, and, by making free TAFE permanent through this bill, we are reducing the barriers. By giving additional financial assistance to those doing an apprenticeship, we're making it easier for apprentices to make ends meet and to make that investment in their education and training so that they can manage the cost of living whilst they study and get those vital skills that our economy needs.

We do owe a duty to the next generation of Australians—to our kids and, later, the grandkids coming through—to build an economy in this nation that liberates their talents and rewards their efforts. That starts with education for all, with the three days of early education and then universal primary and secondary school education. There is university, with HECS debts cut by 20 per cent—as people get into the workforce, helping them again with the cost of living. Through the whole cycle of education in this nation, it's only federal Labor that has a plan and that is legislating to assist Australians through their journey of learning the new skills that we need in our economy. It's the economy that benefits, as well as the individual, our families and our communities. It's education for all. Australians, no matter what their background or financial situation, should have equal access to education. That's our mantra and what we strongly believe in. No-one is held back; no-one's left behind.

Time and time again, I've seen education delivering a future for young Territorians, whether it's through catching up with Clontarf or the STARS program up in the NT, and seeing what some added assistance and mentoring does for those young Territorians. Staying in school longer, getting a trade and going into higher education or into the workforce is absolutely vital.

Federal Labor believes in equal opportunity. By making TAFE free we are removing those financial barriers that I've mentioned. We will ensure that everyone has a chance to pursue a career that they love and to achieve their potential. As we've heard from previous speakers, this is not something that we have newly embarked upon. Supporting vocational education and training and TAFE is in federal Labor's DNA. We're reversing the damage of a decade under those opposite and we're rebuilding our TAFEs for communities across Australia.

Labor made the landmark $30 billion five-year National Skills Agreement with the states and territories, lifting investment in skills across Australia, alongside our government's growing investment in fee-free TAFE. We are going after the dodgy providers so that quality providers can do their work properly. The Albanese government has tightened up regulations, set up a tip-off line and increased funding to the independent regulator. This is directly leading to the exposure and deregistration of fraudulent providers. It only takes a few bad apples to bring a sector into disrepute, but it takes a genuine national partnership to support our great TAFEs.

What have those opposite ever done to support TAFEs? Australians know that those opposite, given half a chance, will cut TAFE again. We've heard it from their very mouths just recently. The Liberals—those opposite—do not respect our public TAFEs. They don't understand or value the importance of strong TAFEs in our local communities. Our government is investing in young Australians to give them the skills that they need. A strong vocational education and training sector is absolutely critical to ensuring that Territorians and Australians around the country get a secure, well-paid job. This is critical to building the Territory's future.

There is a clear choice at this election. Peter Dutton and the Liberals will cut free TAFE and Australians will end up paying more for TAFE, but, under our government, the Albanese government, free TAFE is here to stay.

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