Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

They must be coming quite confounded by what I am saying. It makes common sense, does it not?

Senator Cameron interjecting—

Thank you for the acknowledgement, Senator Cameron. How can it be disgraceful? It is just common sense. I am yet to hear from one of the union people on the other side of the businesses which they ran, when they took on trainees and apprentices and how it worked for them in the initial years. What do I hear? Nothing. There were no businesses run by those on the other side, were there? You have not run any businesses. You have just tried to run businesses for other people. I am talking about people who understand the way in which the economy works and understand the drivers of the economy. I would not expect to ever hear anything from you people on the other side about anything that makes sense in the business community because you do not understand it. You do not talk to business owners and you do not get it. Business is not in your DNA and it never will be.

I will give you some examples of what the money can be spent on. Apprentices are given the options to opt-in for six months to buy their tools and then opt-out of any further payments, or apprentices could save their first year's payments to buy a second hand vehicle and then opt-out of further payments, or apprentices can take on the full loan to cover living expenses through their years of training and when they complete their qualification they will get 20 per cent off the $20,000.

It makes eminent sense. It just makes sense. If they finish, they get a reward—a reward for effort; not just a reward for nothing but a reward for effort.

How long will it probably take for an apprentice to pay off their loan? Well, that is what happens—you pay off a loan; you get a 20 per cent completion bonus. If you take that into account, it will be five years after the repayments start. So that leg up into a productive life—