Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is—

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I called the member for Kingston.

Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingston will resume his seat.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move that so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition moving forthwith:

That this House censure the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs for:

(1)

their failure to—

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. You did give the member for Kingston the call. The member for Kingston had commenced his question and the member for Kingston had the call. He was asking his question. The Leader of the Opposition is not entitled to move that in this way at this time.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House raises a valid point of order. The member for Kingston had the call. He had started his question. The only interruption that another member can make is to take a point of order, so I will allow the member for Kingston to complete his question.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was on my feet here at the dispatch box when the Prime Minister answered you that he had finished his answer. Quite frankly, Mr Speaker, just whipping your eyes across there will not do. The government has a pretty thoroughgoing understanding that they have got to cop a resolution on this given their shabby behaviour.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the Leader of the Opposition’s point, but the fact is that I saw the member for Kingston first and I have called the member for Kingston.

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It is your sole prerogative as to who you give the call to. It is true that you gave the call to the member for Kingston, but you withdrew it and called the Leader of the Opposition. I cannot see how—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will rule on that point. The only way under the standing orders that the Leader of the Opposition could interrupt the question was to take a point of order. I gave him the call, thinking he was going to take a point of order. He wanted to move a motion. In that case the member for Kingston still has the right to ask his question, so I call the member for Kingston.

Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my question is addressed to the Minister for Vocational and Technical Education. Would the minister update the House on the implementation of the government’s Australian technical college initiative all across Australia, and in particular South Australia?

Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kingston, because he is one of the strong advocates in this place on the government side for Australian technical colleges. Of the 19 successful proposals announced so far in the 18 of the 24 regions the government promised, one is in the South Adelaide area. We are sure to make further announcements on at least two other regions in coming days. The government is spending $343.6 million over five years on this. Five are starting this year. In fact, four have already opened their doors in places such as eastern Melbourne, Gladstone, the Gold Coast and Port Macquarie. Another college will open up in northern Tasmania, in Burnie and Launceston.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite are calling out ‘four’—yes, that is four colleges; the Labor Party promised zero. At the end of it, this government’s commitment to vocational and technical education has seen funding increase by 88.3 per cent since 1996. In real terms, that is a record $2.5 billion this financial year compared to the measly $1.07 billion in 1995. The number of new apprentices in training has increased by 172 per cent, from 143,795 in 1995 to 391,200 as at the end of June last year. The member for Kingston will be interested to know that in his electorate 74 apprentices are eligible today for the Tools for your Trade initiative. The member for Brand would probably want to know—because he says he does not know of any—there are 218 in his electorate. In the member for Kingston’s electorate there has been a 367 per cent increase in the number of apprentices in training since 1996.

This is evidence that the Australian business community, who are the ones who create apprenticeships, are driving the economy further by taking that investment and are making certain that Australia’s future and the future strength of our economy is assured by this investment in training.

Government Members:

More!

Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You want more?

Government Members:

Yes!

Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The number of students altogether in vocational and technical education around this country today has risen to 1.6 million people, and that is an increase of 26 per cent over the last few years. At the end of the day, never before in the history of this nation has there been a government with this level of commitment to this important area of encouraging businesses to take on young people in particular, to give them the training opportunities to take on the nation building trades. This is a big contrast to the days when the member for Brand was the minister in charge of this particular area. In fact, I suppose the Minister for Defence will probably like the irony of this. When the member for Brand went from Defence to education and training, he said that there were no challenges left. He felt as though there was nothing to do, and in his time in that particular job there were 30,000 people trashed when it came to apprenticeships in this country, and Australia’s economy is still paying the price for the lack of interest that the member for Brand had when he had an opportunity to grow apprenticeships. Instead he retarded it, and it affected Australia’s economy. The recession we had to have is still being felt right around Australia today because of the member for Brand’s stewardship at that time.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.