Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I know; it's hard to believe! But from the mid-eighties until the early 2000s, for almost two decades, I worked as a nurse. Nursing isn't just a job. It's a career that enables you to make a real difference—a difference that often means saving people's lives. Nurses have been and always will be the backbone of our healthcare system. I had the great opportunity of becoming a nurse through free education, because when I was in my early 20s you could train to become a nurse through the vocational educational system. I was a sole parent and went back to train after my twins were only seven weeks old. There is no way that I could have done that as a sole parent if I wasn't in the vocational education system, getting paid to work and learn on the job.

Now of course nursing is taught in universities, and I'm proud to say that this government has recognised the difficulty that places on people financially and is funding paid clinical placements. But back in my day, there's no way I could have afforded to complete my training if it wasn't for the vocational education sector. Being a nurse as a woman meant I got to have my own career, my own money, my own agency and my own choices. I was able to raise four children. It set me up to have a whole career, rather than just a job. It enabled me to become a nurse educator with Austin Health. I was federal secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and now—I pinch myself every day—I'm the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health. The lessons I learned while training to be a nurse back in those early days informs my work to this very day. Nursing is a career I'd recommend to anyone—as long as you're not squeamish!

Right now, Australia needs more nurses. In fact, we're facing unprecedented demand for nurses and aged-care workers. Our aging population is growing, and with it the need for a compassionate, skilled workforce who can provide high-quality care to those who have spent their lives building this country as well. By 2050 we will need over 200,000 additional aged-care workers just to keep up with demand. Yet for too many people, the financial barriers to training in these fields have kept them from pursuing this rewarding work. That's why free TAFE is so important. It's not just an investment in individuals; it's an investment in the care of our most vulnerable people. Since its introduction more than 130,000 students have enrolled in courses to train as enrolled nurses, aged-care workers and early childhood educators. That's 130,000 more Australians who are stepping up to care for our most vulnerable people. I hope to see many more training for the care economy into the future, including the wonderful at Melbourne Polytechnic Preston in my own growing electorate of Cooper.

Let's be clear: this is also a woman's issue. The vast majority of workers in health care, aged care and early childhood education are women. When we invest in free TAFE, we are directly supporting women's economic security, helping them gain qualifications, secure well paid jobs and build financial independence. This bill is about ensuring that women, who make up a majority of our growing care workforce, are given opportunities and agency and are able to pursue their passions. It's not about living just for bread but also about living for the roses. This is exactly what free TAFE does. It allows working mums to upskill and re-enter the workforce without taking on student debt. It ensures young women looking for a career in health care or education aren't held back simply because they can't afford tuition fees. If we're serious about closing the gender pay gap, about giving women economic independence and about valuing the work that has been so often taken for granted, then we have to invest in these professions.

When I think about the opportunities that free TAFE can present for women, I think of a young woman in my electorate called Charlotte. Charlotte, unfortunately like too many Australians, spent much of her youth escaping with her mother and sisters from violence perpetrated by their father. She lived with trauma, poverty and fear. These experiences, tied with the global pandemic in her last few years of school, meant Charlotte really struggled to complete school. She didn't get the grades she wanted and, frankly, Charlotte really struggled to feel positively or motivated about her future. For years after school she struggled to retain secure work in hospitality or live on wages from casual and insecure work. Her mum forwent a lot to keep Charlotte afloat.

Charlotte's mental health and lack of formal education may have been a setback but they certainly couldn't define her. Growing up in a turbulent home showed Charlotte that life could be tough, but, while overcoming it all, Charlotte was also shown resilience, strength and care from her mum and within herself. Charlotte fought through trauma and mental health problems, learning the difference that can be made by having people around you who care. Charlotte now wants to replicate the care that was shown to her by her mum through all those years by pursuing a career in community services. In 2025, through free TAFE, Charlotte will do just that. Free TAFE for Charlotte is a second chance. It's a door opener. It's an opportunity maker. It's not insecure hours of work and pay; it's a fulfilling career.

There are so many others, like Charlotte, changing the trajectory of their lives through free TAFE. I am so proud of her, and I know her mum and her sisters are too. There are so many other stories about resilience and education. Like Charlotte, these people most definitely—I guarantee it—value their fee-free TAFE education.

Since the Albanese Labor government introduced fee-free TAFE, we've seen 508,000 enrolments in the first 18 months, 130,000 students training in the care sector, 35,000 people training in early childhood education, and almost 35,000 students training in construction. Priority cohorts have particularly benefited from the program. I'm proud that over 170,000 Australians, and over 124,000 jobseekers, have already enrolled in free TAFE. More than 60 per cent of places are being taken up by women, and one in three places are in regional Australia. These aren't just numbers; these are real people, like Charlotte, getting real qualifications and real trajectories, with real lives being changed.

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the success that free TAFE has had because of the partnerships with our states and territories. They've coordinated the skills and training their future workforces need for their industries and they've ensured TAFE students are working towards a real job, not an empty qualification. Planning for future industries like clean energy, housing construction and the care economy relies on a secure and growing workforce. The states and territories know this only too well. The Free TAFE Bill is important because it commits the Commonwealth to ongoing support for free TAFE while allowing states to tailor their programs to local needs. This is how good government works—not through insecurity, not through cuts and not through neglect, but through collaboration and long-term investment.

We know that when the Liberals were last in government they cut $3 billion from the VET system and TAFE. We know that if the coalition had their way we would see these cuts replicated. Education inequality would widen, aspirations would be crushed, women entering the workforce would be inhibited and older workers needing to retrain would be locked out. This would mean housing, energy projects, and childcare and aged-care centres couldn't get off the ground because of skills shortages, and it would mean businesses would be forced to look overseas for workers instead of employing Australians right here at home. We know that the Leader of the Opposition hasn't even said the word 'TAFE' in this place since 2004 and we've heard time and again that the opposition consider this to be wasteful spending. We know all about how the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, speaking on this very bill, said:

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

Well, education is not wasteful. Investing in future industries is not wasteful, investing in future workforces is not wasteful and investing in people is not wasteful. Giving people, especially women, the tools they need to build a better life is not wasteful. If the Liberals had their way, they would cut funding to TAFE, reduce access to education and leave Australian businesses scrambling to find workers. Australians deserve uplifting. We cannot afford to let this happen again.

This bill is about opportunity, fairness and a stronger future for all Australians. It's about investing in our growing industries, like the care economy, clean energy and housing construction. It's about investing in individuals to afford more opportunities and to reach their dreams. It's about valuing female dominated industries and workers. It's about ensuring that, whether you are a young person looking for a new start, a mum trying to look after her kids and re-enter the workforce or a worker retraining for a new career, you have the opportunity to get the skills you need without being held back by the cost. That's why I proudly commend this bill to the House, and I urge those on the crossbench to do so too.

See this speech in context