Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Industry. Can the minister tell us how the government's budget provides more support for apprenticeships?

Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Herbert for his question, and his lack of impersonation of my answer. This government understands that the most important thing to give to young people is the opportunity to get a long-term job and a well-paying job, and the member for Herbert understands that. I have had the opportunity with the member for Herbert to visit a skills and training centre in his electorate, and his support for the young people in that electorate is palpable. You only have to talk to the member for Herbert to know that he sees the importance of getting young people into jobs. And the way to do that in particular is to upgrade their skills and to encourage them to not only take up apprenticeships but to actually complete them.

What we have in Australia at the moment is a situation where half of the apprenticeships that are started are not completed. We announced in our Economic Action Strategy that we intend to build a strong and prosperous economy, and to do that we want the young people—not just in Herbert, but right around Australia—to participate in the growth of that economy. We want to see them get a trade, go out and earn a living and look forward to a long-term prospect, and they will not do that if they do not complete their apprenticeship. So we have introduced a Trade Support Loans scheme that will give apprentices a loan of $20,000. Under this scheme we will roll out about $1.9 billion worth of loans, and when they complete their four years 20 per cent of that loan will be written off—20 per cent, $4,000, immediately discounted. Not only that, but the value of the discount in terms of repaying it over the term against a commercial loan makes this scheme worth more than double the scheme it replaces in Tools For Your Trade.

We are moving from a scheme such as Tools For Your Trade—where money was just given with no requirement to complete your apprenticeship—to a scheme where we actively encourage young people to complete their apprenticeships. Not only is it worth more than double—

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. He is making references to young people and traineeships—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What is the point of order?

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fact is that this government is cutting the money for Tools For Your Trade; that is what they are doing.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat. The Minister for Industry has the call. There was no point of order, and an abuse of the standing orders.

Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just restate the point that this is worth twice as much in the hand of the apprentices as the scheme it replaces—more than twice as much. In fact, the repayments under this scheme are less than a third of what they would be if they used a commercial loan. This government supports outcomes. By having a scheme that encourages young people in particular to complete their apprenticeships and get the full discount on the loan, we are ensuring that they have a long-term, viable future in the workforce.