Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Evans talked a bit about the work that is happening in the training system. The training rollout, $3 billion, is having an impact and an effect in terms of the Indigenous community, with the $2.5 billion Trade Training Centres in Schools Program; the Indigenous Cadetship Support, which has assisted over 650 Indigenous students to get a foothold in graduate programs since July 2009; the Australian School-Based Apprenticeships program, which has helped 1,400 Indigenous students into an apprenticeship; and, of course, the 6,400 Indigenous school based traineeships that were announced by the Gillard government in the May budget, something we will be working on with the school sector but also the business sector.

We know the work that is happening here from the Labor government. All this work will be under threat from an opposition—from Liberal Party senators—with a $70 billion black hole. They have no idea where the money is going to come from, but we do know that, when they are in doubt, they cut services. They cut services and they cut programs, and these will be the programs they cut. (Time expired)