Grant Chapman (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I say in response to Senator Stephens: this bill has nothing to do with an issue of underfunding; what it has to do with is the enthusiasm and the excitement with which parents have embraced the concept of the Australian technical colleges initiated by the Howard government. The Australian Technical Colleges (Flexibility in Achieving Australia’s Skills Needs) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2006 amends the Australian Technical Colleges (Flexibility in Achieving Australia’s Skills Needs) Act 2005 to provide additional funding of $112.6 million over the years 2005 to 2009 for the establishment and operation of Australian technical colleges. As I said, what that reflects is the enthusiasm with which the community has embraced this commitment and initiative of the Howard government. The original act implemented a Howard government commitment made during the 2004 election that provides for the establishment and operation of 25 Australian technical colleges for up to 7,500 year 11 and 12 students in 24 nominated regions across Australia.

The bill that we are debating today builds on that existing policy initiative from the Howard government to provide the workforce skills that employers are demanding. This is a consequence of the high demand for goods and services, both within Australia and by overseas customers, resulting from the strong and competitive economy which the Howard government’s economic reforms have built. Our economy is strong and, provided a Liberal-National government retains the reins of government, it will remain strong.

Therefore, while it is opportune to remind the Senate of the initiative being enhanced by this legislation, it is also prudent to build on that by considering new policy options. I will do that in a few moments and contrast those options with Mr Rudd’s recent deceptive and empty rhetoric which he has called his ‘education revolution’. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, the Howard government has taken up the challenge with regard to technical education by establishing 25 Australian technical colleges across 24 regions to promote pride and excellence in the teaching and acquiring of trade skills at the secondary school level at an initial cost of $343.6 million. This legislation provides an extra $112.6 million for the Australian technical college program until the end of 2009.

The Australian technical colleges will meet the increasing demand for skilled tradespeople throughout Australia and, once fully operational, will provide up to 7,500 young Australians a year with the opportunity to combine an Australian school based apprenticeship in a trade with their senior secondary school studies. Further, the Australian government is delivering a range of initiatives through to 2010 as part of its $11.3 billion investment in Australia’s future—the biggest commitment to vocational and technical education by any government in Australia’s history. That gives the lie to what we are hearing from the opposite side in this chamber today. This is the biggest commitment in technical and vocational education in Australia’s history.

The Australian technical college at Christie Downs in South Australia, for which the very hardworking member for Kingston, Kym Richardson, and I lobbied extremely hard—