Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Free TAFE Bill 2024 was passed by the House last week and sits now with the Senate. Hasluck, and indeed Western Australia, look forward to the passage of the bill. The legislation lists seven national priority areas, and I've hopefully got time to mention three.

The bill includes a focus on the caring professions: aged care, child care, health care, disability care. We know there are shortages. We know there's a growing demand in these areas. We all know it. The Liberals and the Nationals know it. But knowing it, and purporting to care about the caring professions, and then failing to act is inexplicable. The Liberals and Nationals want to say they care about aged care, child care, health care and disability care, yet they allowed training in these sectors to run down for over a decade. They now oppose free training, and they refuse to tell us about their secret cuts to these sectors. If the coalition won't support our care workers then why should our care workers support the coalition?

The second area is housing construction. In the debate on the Free TAFE Bill, the member for Petrie said, 'We don't have enough tradies.' He's right. After a decade of neglect on the part of the Liberals and Nationals, it is no wonder we don't have enough tradies. This is the coalition that didn't even have a federal housing minister for most of its tenure. Not only has the Albanese government made the greatest investments in housing of any federal government since the Second World War, but the Liberals and Nationals have opposed those housing investments. We have reached out to support apprentices with a $10,000 incentive to assist them in completing their training. The coalition opposes free training for the very people who will build the houses we need. So, if the coalition won't support the tradies, why should the tradies support the coalition?

The third area is our sovereign capability in manufacturing and defence. Henderson in Western Australia is now home to continuous naval shipbuilding. In concert with this excellent decision, the Albanese and Cook Labor governments are establishing Western Australia's Defence TAFE Centre of Excellence across four south metropolitan TAFE campuses in Perth. As well as helping WA workers to upskill and secure high-tech, well-paid jobs, this centre will create a pipeline of skilled workers in defence industries to keep Australia safe. There will be free TAFE courses at the centre as a matter of priority because the Albanese government prioritises manufacturing. The coalition voted against this support in the House and looks set to vote against it in the Senate. If the coalition won't support our manufacturing workers and won't support a future made in Australia, why should our manufacturing workers support the coalition?