Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, I present the committee’s report of the inquiry into rural skills training and research entitled Skills: rural Australia’s need, together with the minutes of proceedings and evidence received by the committee.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

The report addresses a matter of critical importance to Australia’s rural industries. A highly skilled rural workforce is vital to the economic future of Australia. Maintaining and enhancing those skills in a dynamic and highly competitive international environment requires investment in world-class training, extension and research services. Only by making such investment will our rural industries remain at the forefront of international agriculture and forestry.

Despite this, the evidence received by the committee during its inquiry indicated that there are severe skills shortages in rural industries and significant gaps in our capacity to respond to those shortages. First and foremost are the negative perceptions surrounding agriculture and forestry. Although these are dynamic industries with strong prospects, they are widely perceived as sunset industries with little to offer ambitious and capable people.

In truth, Australia’s rural industries offer a wide diversity of career options, ranging from farmhands—with the freedom to move within and between industries—through to machine operators with specialised skills and business managers and research scientists. Agriculture is not just farming, and forestry is not just cutting down trees. The community needs to be educated as to the role agriculture and forestry play in our society and the diverse career prospects open to those who seek them.

A more coherent approach needs to be taken to the provision of rural skills training and education. The committee recommends the development of a national strategy on rural skills training, encompassing the school, vocational education and training, and higher education sectors. The strategy would rationalise providers, focus limited resources and provide for greater articulation between the various sectors.

The committee also identified a need to reform the regulatory framework governing vocational education and training, at least as applied to rural skills training. The current framework is inflexible and unresponsive and fails to take into account the particular needs of rural skills training in terms of costs, volumes and the often informal nature of rural expertise. The framework has also failed to meet the specific needs of individual rural industries, leading some to take control of their own training needs. The very success of these industry initiatives demonstrates the need for change.

The need for increased investment in research and the dissemination of research outcomes through extension are a matter of priority. While Australian research in agriculture and forestry is world class, there is a concern that much of the research being done is not reaching farmers. The links between research and extension must, therefore, be enhanced. There is also concern that the research skill base is being undermined by an emphasis on short-term funding mechanisms and an ageing researcher population. The committee recommends a greater emphasis on long-term research and greater stability of funding and employment for researchers.

The provision of rural extension services has undergone enormous change in recent times, as state governments move out of this field and private operators move in. There is a concern that this process of transition has created gaps in the availability of services and a loss of corporate memory and career opportunities amongst extension professionals. The committee has called for the development of a national extension framework to address these issues. The provision of high-quality extension and advisory services is essential to the progress of rural and regional Australia.

I take this opportunity to express on behalf of the committee our gratitude to all those who participated in the inquiry and to the staff of the secretariat. On behalf of the committee, I commend the report to the House.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Hume on his chairmanship of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry inquiry and on bringing together the committee’s report Skills: rural Australia’s need. I am pleased to speak to the tabling of this report and, in doing so, draw attention to the skills needs of rural Australia. As a member of this parliament who represents the largest rural electorate in Tasmania, I am well aware of the importance of this issue. The recommendations in this report are broad in their range but also concise in their focus—and they need to be. In most cases, the needs of rural Australia are peculiar to particular regions and, therefore, the plan to address those needs should also be specific.

The committee received 117 submissions from government, peak bodies and individuals. There were also 22 public hearings, through which we received further submissions. The recommendations in the committee’s report are listed under five categories: rural skills—a critical issue; rural skills education and training; regulatory framework for VET; the availability and adequacy of research; and provision of extension and advisory services.

A skilled rural workforce is critical to our economic future. Rural industries, like most industries—if not, in fact, all industries—are facing a skills shortage and a skills gap. There are difficulties in attracting and retaining skilled workers and, in addition to this, the agriculture workforce in this country is older than the Australian workforce in general. Perhaps one of the most important issues is the need to collect comprehensive and consistent national data, in order to address the skills shortage.

The committee is concerned that the current allocation of government resources is neither sufficient nor appropriately targeted, due to inadequate data collection and analysis. That is why it has recommended that the Australian government consult with the states, territories and industry bodies to review and revise the Skills in Demand List survey and that this should be reviewed on an annual basis. It is also important to develop national strategies in a variety of areas—such as promoting the role of agriculture and forestry within Australian society and promoting agriculture and forestry within primary and secondary schools. Again, these initiatives should be developed by the Australian government in conjunction with the state and territory governments.

While the overall number of women working in rural industries has grown, there was a steady decline in the number of young women entering the agricultural workforce from 1971 until 2001. That is one reason that the committee has recommended that the Australian government coordinate programs with the state and territory governments to enhance the role and contribution of women to Australian agriculture and to assist them to participate in rural skills training. Similar strategies should also be developed for older workers.

The Australian government also needs to acknowledge the role of technology in rural areas and in rural enterprises. The committee has recommended the further development of communications services in rural and regional Australia. This includes access to high-speed broadband services for rural and remote communities.

We need to encourage people to work in the rural workforce. We need to show that there is a wide range of career opportunities available within rural industries. We need to ensure that the knowledge of those older workers working in rural industries is passed on to the next generation of rural workers. I commend this report to the House—not just to sit on a shelf but to be implemented. Our rural future is at stake. We need young people to be in training now to deal with the massive changes that are going on in the world today.

I congratulate the staff involved. There were some staff changes during this inquiry and there were difficulties in getting together. I commend them for pulling together and for coming up with this very good report, which I certainly hope both sides of the House will give consideration to in their policy considerations.

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

The time allotted for statements on this report has expired. Does the member for Hume wish to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a later occasion?

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

In accordance with standing order 39, the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour this day.