Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Furner for his question. This morning I was lucky enough, with the Deputy Prime Minister and my ministerial colleagues Penny Wong, Greg Combet and Jason Clare, to attend a WorldSkills Australia Try’a Trade event which was outside Parliament House with a number of apprentices present. These were the apprentices from the Australian Skillaroos trade team that went to the recent WorldSkills Games. As I announced to the chamber recently, they were very successful and came fifth at the WorldSkills Games.

While those in the coalition have their heads in the sand in terms of climate change, our apprentices are on the front line in tackling climate change and today they demonstrated the green skills that will help transform Australia’s workplaces: skills in solar energy, green plumbing, energy efficiency, sheet metal and manufacturing—skills that are reshaping trades training. As well as promoting green skills, today was also about Apprenticeship Kickstart, a tripling in the commencement bonus for apprentices to almost $5,000.

Those on the other side, the Liberal Party and the National Party, may laugh about apprenticeships, but it is not something that we laugh about because, during the global recession, apprenticeship commencements have dropped by 20 per cent. That is why the government is taking action now, tripling the commencement bonus for apprentices to almost $5,000 to stimulate almost 21,000 apprenticeships between December and February. This is what the Rudd government is doing. This is how we are driving apprenticeships and this is how we are preparing for the low-carbon future.