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

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. Can the Deputy Prime Minister inform the House of the consequences to Australia of skills shortages?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Chifley for his question. Of course, Australians around the country know about the impact of skills shortages. Whether you are running a major project in the north-west of this country or trying to get a plumber or another tradesperson to attend to a small job at your home, the consequences of skills shortages are in your face.

This is a skills crisis that has built up over 12 long years and which the government is urgently addressing. We have made available 42,000 training places under the Productivity Places Program of the government, and these training places provide job seekers with qualifications from certificate II level to diploma level. So oversubscribed has this program been, so popular has it been, with people taking the places and commencing training—and, indeed, some have completed training and they are now in jobs—that I have recently announced an additional investment of $45.5 million for an additional 15,000 training places to be available to job seekers.

We are acting to address Australia’s skills crisis, and the skills crisis shows throughout Australian society. Indeed, it is somewhat bemusing to me that we have seen a bit of a skills crisis on display today in the House of Representatives. We have seen the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition morph into senior counsel and junior counsel. He is back in his spy catcher days; she is back in her days of defending CSR against claims by people who got mesothelioma in Wittenoom. And they think that that is leadership for the country—senior counsel and junior counsel! Well, it might make a difference if you were at the bar trying to earn money as a Queen’s Counsel, but what Australians actually want is leadership. So I would suggest to the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition they might want to think about those political skills—

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The ex ambulance chaser needs to be relevant.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on the point of order, there are standing orders which require points of order to actually be about points of order—not an opportunity in this chamber to say what they like.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will resume his seat. The Deputy Prime Minister has the call.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Albanese interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House is quite aware that the member for Canning’s behaviour was outside the standing orders, and he is quite aware that his own behaviour was well and truly outside the standing orders. I think that he would understand that occupiers of the chair have shown some flexibility in carrying out their duties. That is the point at this time. If he has some problem with this, he has whatever action is befitting him in his position as Leader of the House. I will now listen carefully to the response from the Deputy Prime Minister—perhaps with less flexibility.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I just say on the question of skills shortages—and having been a lawyer in the past—that, if I were picking a side on CSR and Wittenoom, I am glad I picked the side of the injured workers. I am proud of that. I am proud I did not defend the company against those claims. I am actually proud of that. On the question of these skills we have seen on display today, can I suggest to the Leader of the Opposition that his job is not the Spycatcher trials but to outline some policy for the Australian people. He might want to start with skills shortages. He might want to move to health. He might try telling us what he is going to do when the Forward with Fairness legislation comes into the parliament. Will he be defending Work Choices, or voting the way the Australian people want him to vote? We are looking forward to a bit of exercise of political skills on those things.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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