Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is exactly right. This government only acknowledged the skills shortage because of political pressure. Labor, through the shadow minister, Mr Smith, has stated:

… the only effective approach to take to enhancing vocational education and training is by the Commonwealth taking a leadership role and acting in cooperation with the states and territories and with industry. That is the most effective way of ensuring that we cater for our long-term skills needs and requirements.

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The best way of ensuring that we meet our skills and training needs into the future is by the Commonwealth working cooperatively, through the government of the day, with the states and territories and working cooperatively with industry. This is the best way of ensuring that the Commonwealth’s priorities, the Commonwealth’s needs—those areas which the Commonwealth regards as priorities—are the focus of our vocational and educational skills and training.

That is the complete opposite of what this mob has been doing, and that is why we have a skills shortage. The government has essentially embarked on duplicating the existing vocational education and training infrastructure and setting up an expensive stand-alone system. We have a shortage of skilled and trained workers for two reasons: firstly, because the government has actually cut public spending on vocational education and training; and, secondly, because of this government’s neglect over 10 long years.