Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

What I was pleased to see was that in the New South Wales government's budget, which has been announced, they are offering free training for apprenticeships, as a state government should rightly do where they have the opportunity and where they have sound economic management, as the New South Wales coalition government does. That is a state government fulfilling its jurisdictional responsibilities, creating the opportunities that are available. No doubt they see that the investments coming from the Turnbull government from the Skilling Australians Fund helped them to create those opportunities. They are the types of measures that are going to make a great difference in terms of support in that state, in that jurisdiction.

Equally, we're pleased to have seen other states sign up to the Skilling Australians Funds: the ACT and the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, as well as New South Wales—all of them committed on a pathway to help create more apprenticeship opportunities for more Australians. We hope that, ultimately, everybody will sign to support 300,000 additional apprenticeship opportunities around Australia.